Bengal women more in demand than men in T20 Premier Leagues

The inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), which is going to be played from March 4, has six players from Bengal in the five teams.

Two of them — Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh — are among the big buys. All-rounder Deepti got Rs 2.6 crore from UP Warriorz. Richa, the Indian team’s wicketkeeper-batter, drew a bid of Rs 1.9 crore from Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Titas Sadhu, Priyanka Bala, Saika Ishaque and Dhara Gujjar are the other Bengal girls in the tournament which is billed as one to usher in a new era in the history of women’s cricket. A lot of people are saying that this will change the face of this side of the game, like the IPL did to men’s cricket in India and elsewhere.

Girls beat boys

Truth be told, Bengal has not quite benefited from the Indian Premier League (IPL). The presence of cricketers from Bengal has so long been negligible in IPL. Barring Mohammad Shami when he is fit, others do not make it to the playing XIs of the franchises that often. In fact, very few are bought. Across the 10 teams this season, there are only five from Bengal.

Mukesh Kumar was bought for Rs 5.5 crore by Delhi Capitals this year. He is expected to play a few games. The rest — Wriddhiman Saha, Shahbaz Ahmed and Akash Deep — are not sure-shot first XI players. And except for Wriddhiman, the other four are not Bengal products. They grew up in different states before shifting to Bengal. Shami is from Uttar Pradesh and Mukesh from Bihar.

In the women’s side, Deepti is also not from Bengal, although she represents the state team in domestic competitions. Like Shami, she is originally from Uttar Pradesh.

The other five Bengal girls in the WPL mix are all from the state, they grew up here and played their cricket here. That is a key difference between men and women when it comes to Bengal’s representation in the IPL and WPL. Bengal’s home-grown talents have drawn the attention of the franchises ready to splurge money, unlike in the men’s section.

Boost for Bengal

Talking to My Kolkata, Bengal women’s coach Probal Dutta and bowling coach Shiv Sagar Singh were unanimous that superior infrastructure and a culture of women’s cricket has played a part in the state, producing a number of players who made or are making a mark at the national level. They have a point. The Cricket Association of Bengal conducts tournaments for girls at the junior and senior levels. Players are assisted by certified coaches, physios and physical trainers. The training and playing facilities are decent enough.

“At least in the east zone, Bengal has the best infrastructure for women’s cricket. Tournaments are organised at the local level, girls get to play a number of matches. There is emphasis on scouting talent from the under-14 level. But the most important factor is the performance of our players. We are a strong side, we finished second in the national 50-over competition this year. Three of our players were part of the India squad which won the U-19 T20 World Cup. It’s actually a combination of performance, infrastructure and resources that has resulted in Bengal players drawing attention beyond the state level and in the WPL,” said Dutta.

Of the three mentioned by Dutta, Titas opened the bowling for India in the U-19 T20 World Cup final against England and went on to be named Player of the Match. She has been an understudy of Singh, bowling coach of the Bengal junior and senior teams. “We have several tournaments for girls these days and the game has spread to the districts instead of being confined to Kolkata. This means Bengal has a bigger pool to choose from. Plus, we have efficient coaches assisting these girls. Their basics have improved. They have become technically and mentally stronger. The support team is stronger. Also, the pool is not that vast in women’s cricket in India, which makes it slightly easier for girls to get noticed once they do well.”

Rich history

This is not an isolated development. Women’s cricket in Bengal has a history and tradition which is quite rich. Barring a handful like Pankaj Roy, Dilip Doshi, Sourav Ganguly and Wriddhiman, male cricketers from the state have rarely been regulars in the Indian team. In comparison, well before Jhulan Goswami arrived, Bengal had been supplying players to the national women’s team. The likes of Srirupa Bose, Gargi Banerjee, Lopamudra Bhattacharya and Mithu Mukherjee are important names in the annals of Indian women’s cricket. Inclusion of six players in five WPL teams is in continuation of this legacy.

Bengal players in WPL

Deepti Sharma: UP Warriorz: Rs 2.6 cr

Richa Ghosh: Royal Challengers Bangalore: Rs 1.9 cr

Titas Sadhu: Delhi Capitals: Rs 25 lakh

Priyanka Bala: Mumbai Indians: Rs 20 lakh

Dhara Gujjar: Mumbai Indians: Rs 10 lakh

Saika Ishaque: Mumbai Indians: Rs 10 lakh