How could you aspire to be a cricketer, girl?

Sudakshina Bhatta
Jul 23, 2017 · 3 min read

There was a time when I used to collect cricketer’s cards that came for free with packs of Big Babool (a brand of bubblegum). Each card had pictures of the players with their achievements written at the bottom. I was a cricket freak & I used to visit the fields at my complex to follow the boys playing. I remember, me & dad spent evenings watching matches while kids of my age watched cartoons. I was that much inclined to this game. Dad was my biggest inspiration who helped in nurturing my interest in this game. My collection of cards made me a subject of envy among boys & probably that’s why, they used to give me chances to hold the bat for a few times (they thought after the game, I’ll be kind enough to hand them over all my cards.. bwahaha! Poor boys!!!).

Then, Ajay Jadeja used to be my favourite Indian cricketer & among the foreign teams, I loved the fast bowling of Brett Lee & Shoaib Akhtar, while flying catches by Jonty Rhodes always left me wondering how could someone fly so high! Yeah, the late Hansie Cronje of South Africa was my favourite too.

However as time passed by, it taught me, cricket isn’t for girls. We have monthly issues to deal with & we have babies to produce in the near future. So running, jumping, skipping, diving, bowling, batting should be avoided by us for the sake of our own safety.

Truly speaking, I adapted to this thought for so long. I gradually pulled my interest from the game although I still enjoyed watching it on television. But never did I thought of getting into the field once again. I accepted the fact that it’s a boy thing.

That was back in 90’s.

Now, after almost two decades are gone, when I’m all set with an apparently successful career ahead, suddenly I’m feeling the urge of holding the bat again. Reason? The women’s cricket team at the world cup finals. I followed them throughout the tournament & I realised somewhere deep inside, my soul is still craving for playing cricket. And today, the women’s world cup finals brought my dead dreams back to life. I was literally jumping watching those wickets taken by Jhulan Goswami & the mesmerising batting by Punam Raut. In the last part, Deepti Sharma showed incredible consistency as well as maturity & played calmly until she was terribly caught. And it was during that last part of the match, when I felt like dropping in the field physically & making the remaining few runs (that’s one awkward thought I know, but don’t judge me by that thought, that was simply my outburst of emotions).

And finally, when India lost the match, I cried. Just like a little irrational kid, I cried. I cried not because we lost the match, I cried because no one informed me in my childhood that cricket can be considered as a career option. I cried because unknowingly, I killed my dreams. I cried because tomorrow again I’ve to step into that mundane mechanical corporate world. I cried because I lost my chance.

But this isn’t my story alone. There are millions of girls out there who are still wasting their talent & getting their skills channelised into the traditional way of making a successful career. I’ve written this for them so that decades later, they don’t carry regrets of being just an overburdened, deadline oriented & exasperated corporate lady instead of being a cricketer giving autographs with a smile.

Sudakshina Bhatta

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Ever heard of an angel winged devil or a crow faced unicorn? They are just like me.

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