Zenia D'Cunha started reporting on Indian women's cricket in 2016, when women's international matches were not always broadcast. On Sunday, she was at DY Patil Stadium to see India win the World Cup. Here, she picks out the moments in those nine years, witnessed firsthand, that make the players' journey seem even more incredible.
Around 3 AM at the DY Patil Stadium after India won the World Cup, captain Harmanpreet Kaur stepped aside from the celebrations to take a selfie with a group of women journalists. She sought out a couple of women journalists who have covered this team through the years to hand them the trophy for pictures.
When we congratulated Smriti Mandhana she didn't say thank you, she returned the congratulations. Why are you congratulating us, we asked; because you are part of this too, she smiled. Jemimah Rodrigues too came over and similarly thanked us for our work in women's cricket.
The Indian women's cricket team are World Cup champions for the first time ������
At home in Navi Mumbai, India lift their biggest trophy in front of their fortress of fans (and drop the mic on their trolls)
They only had harsh words, this team has the World Cup �� pic.twitter.com/JnLajB2p37
- Zenia D'cunha (@ZENIADCUNHA) November 2, 2025
These aren't common sights in sports. But this Indian women's cricket team wanted to include, in their hour of glory, those who'd walked this journey with them.
Because it's been a long and arduous journey to get here, a journey of near-empty stadiums and thinly-attended press conferences, of being an afterthought in the wider world of Indian cricket. The broad strokes are well known; the lack of resources and initiative by the authorities, the uncertain system, the caustic comments. But there were so many smaller, seemingly insignificant moments of absolute apathy that made you wonder, 'Is this how a cricket powerhouse like India treats its national team?'
No TV for women's cricket
India's win over South Africa in the World Cup final was witnessed by a record 39,555 people in the stadium and approximately 329 million on the official broadcast stream.
Only seven years ago, though, if you wanted to watch an India vs South Africa ODI, you'd have been disappointed. There was no telecast or live streaming planned for the ODI leg of the Indian women's tour of South Africa in 2018, in the team's first international assignment six months after they had stunned the world to reach the 2017 World Cup final.
That revolution was not televised; it was played without any live stream, with only a series of score updates on Cricket South Africa's Twitter handle as the source of information. No one among the powers that be batted an eyelid; this was the norm for women's cricket in non-ICC events. The BCCI simply said the onus was on the host board, not them.
It was only after a media outcry and online fan protests that a live stream was organised.
The things one big World Cup performance could change.
The press conference ahead of the team's departure for the 2017 World Cup was held in Mumbai and you could count the number of journalists in the room on your fingers. Captain Mithali Raj, speaking to the media, told the three women journalists present it was good to see female journalists because that was also a rare sight back then.
When this team returned from England as runners-up after that sensational 171 from Harmanpreet against Australia in the semifinal, the press conference venue was now a massive ballroom of a luxury hotel in Mumbai. There was a near frenzy of cameras and reporters to greet them, to the extent that players were almost mobbed in the glare. They had forced the country to sit up and take notice at a time when few mainstream media outlets spared their results a glance.
An appeal for social media
Earlier that year, Snehal Pradhan, a former cricketer, tireless supporter and currently manager of women's cricket at ICC, had posted on social media asking for 22 more people to follow BCCI Women's Twitter account so they reach the figure of 1000 followers. Before this account, the women's international team scores were often shared on the 'BCCI Domestic' account.
Her tweet got picked up by many, including by Sachin Tendulkar, who asked for the goal to be a modest 2000. Today that number is above one million - and the World Cup trophy in the header image tells its own story.
What prime time?
In 2018 the sport's top two teams, Australia and England, played a T20I tri-series in India. This was an opportunity to showcase a blockbuster contest with the world's best cricketers. Instead, the matches, at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium, were held in the scorching morning sun with almost no spectators because of the time.
A huge opportunity missed: No prime-time slot to build on the popularity of that 2017 World Cup run. No game time under floodlights which was actually a crucial part of modern cricket fielding.
Indeed, the entire Women's World T20 was held alongside the men's in a double-header format till 2016. The women would come and play under the 3 PM sun, and then the men's matches would start under lights. Ditto the Women's T20 Challenge, a short exhibition tournament played alongside IPL in lieu of an actual league - it was initially held before the men's matches. It was a not-so-subtle hint towards the sport's priority.
Secondary responsibility, secondary venue
The last time India hosted the Women's ODI World Cup back in 2013, it was considered so insignificant that venues in Mumbai were shifted at the last minute to accommodate Ranji Trophy. Read that again: they moved World Cup matches for domestic men's cricket. The grounds selected in Mumbai, the MIG Club for example, did not even have seating capacity for audiences, just the ground to play.
The comparison between the crowds at World Cup Finals in 2013 and 2025.
Both games played in Mumbai, but worlds apart in so many ways.#BBCCricket pic.twitter.com/kHLdV7EJk8
- Henry Moeran (@henrymoeranBBC) November 2, 2025
Sadly, the situation is 2025 was not too dissimilar. Initially, smaller stadiums were assigned to the marquee event, to keep the bigger ones fresh for the men's domestic season. In fact, Mullanpur in Punjab was the original venue for this final, before it finally came to Navi Mumbai, to a stadium that had actually hosted women's cricket before.
In fact the usual hosts' advantage of playing a home World Cup was severely undermined this time because the team had not played at Guwahati, Vishakhapatnam or Indore (or even the initially named Thiruvananthapuram and Raipur) before.
The myth of equal pay
Money in women's sport will always be one of the most contentious issues because revenue is never straightforward, but the extent to which it affected Indian women's cricket borders on apathetic. Not because this team is not well paid now, but because these payments are misleadingly labelled as equal pay.
Here are the numbers: Both the men and women's team started receiving equal match fees only from October 2022; before that the women were paid less for the same amount of match hours. It's true that the match fees (Rs 15 lakh for Tests, Rs 6 lakh for ODIs and Rs 3 lakh for T20Is) are the same for men and women players. But the real story lies in the central contracts, which are annual retainers. The highest grade of centra; contracts in men's cricket is ₹7 crore, followed by Rs 5 crore, Rs 3 crore and Rs 1 crore. The highest for women is ₹50L - which is half of that of the lowest grade in men's cricket - followed by 30 lakh and 10 lakh in the other two brackets.
And it's worth noting that the men's team plays significantly more international cricket than the women, so the disparity in even match-fee earnings is significant.
But no one could question any of this, because there were no avenues for journalists to even ask questions about women's cricket. Whether it was about the selection of players, or the musical chair of coaches, or even the dressing room leaks, there were barely any non ICC event press conferences or answers from the administration.
And when the answers did come, they were half-baked takes like when the idea of an IPL for women was shot down constantly with excuses such as lack of depth and talent to no financial interest. When the Women's Premier League finally started in 2023, the eye-watering media rights and auction numbers was proof of the opposite. The player development from just three seasons cannot be denied.
For anyone still doubting, point them to those scenes, that special night, in Navi Mumbai on November 2.