Women’s cricket progressed more than men’s since 2019: Sourav Ganguly

PTI, Dec 11, 2023, 1:50 PM IST

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly feels women’s cricket has attained immense strides in its growth and reach since 2019, perhaps more than their men counterparts.

Ganguly based his argument on the emergence of the Women’s Premier League, a pool of talented players like Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana and the team’s good efforts in some global events of late.

“The progress the women’s cricket in India has made since 2019 is, perhaps, more than the men’s team. The men’s team has always been very good.

“But from where the women’s team was to where they went — from winning the Asia Cup, the way they played in the World Cups. They were the best team in the Commonwealth Games (runners-up in 2022),” Ganguly told Jio Cinema.

“Harmanpreet, Smriti, you name them, Richa, Jemimah, Shafali, the way they have progressed is impressive.” Ganguly was also effusive in his praise for young pacer Renuka Singh.

“When Jhulan (Goswami) finished, we thought where the next seamer would come from, and then Renuka (Singh) Thakur has developed over the last three years. So, that’s the best thing about women’s cricket,” said the former BCCI president.

Ganguly, the Director of Cricket at the Delhi Capitals, was delighted to see the side picking up some talented Indian players from the recent WPL auction.

“I think Ashwani Kumari is someone who they (DC) kept an eye on because she can hit the ball a long way and she bowls.

We needed a back-up keeper, so we got another keeper. We had three slots to fill, we knew one will always be the most important one and we got (Annabel) Sutherland,” said Ganguly.

The Capitals had purchased Australian cricketer Sutherland for Rs 2 crore from the recent player auction held at Mumbai.