Women's Cricket in India

Today morning, I was flipping through the sports channels. Landed on Star Sports 2 which was broadcasting a live ODI between India and New Zealand Women's teams. Batting first, India were in a spot of bother and ended up with a total of 142 on the back of Jhulan Goswami's fighting half-century and little bit of support from the tail-enders.

The coverage was normal, though with fewer cameras. The commentary was also quite good, but there was hardly anyone watching the game in the stands. On a Sunday, an international cricket match being played in India, involving the Indian national team, and near-empty stands! Also don't remember seeing even a single promo for this series on TV or even in print. Then I looked up the series schedule. All five ODIs and the three T20s are scheduled in Bangalore. 

Makes me wonder if there in any interest amongst BCCI top honchos in the promotion of the women's game in the country. The game is being telecast live but there was no marketing in the lead-up to the game. India is a country with a tremendous capacity of watching cricket, Almost all internationals and T20 leagues from around the world and even regional T20 leagues are lapped up by us. But they have to be aware that the product exists before they can consume? 

Also, why hold the entire series in one city which anyways hosts the mens team and IPL games on a regular basis. Why not take it to the smaller towns which do not get to see much international sporting activity. I remember a women's ODI between India and West Indies being held in Dhanbad a few years back which was played before quite a decent sized crowd. So why did this practice stop? Don't think it could really be due to any cost cutting. I don't think playing in front of near empty stands would be much of a motivation to any of the players

The BCCI marketing team needs to wake up and market the women's game better. A few suggestions to them

1. Live telecast is great but a few more TV promos would also be quite helpful for the cause.
2. Have the games spread out in Tier 2 cricket venues which do not get much international sports action.
3. Billboards, flyers in the town hosting the game would certainly help in the marketing.
4. More coverage in the newspapers in the lead-up to the games along with some detailed post-match coverage would help the cause.
5. Why not have  Women's T20 league on the lines of the IPL to showcase the game's talents. If a Kabaddi league can become successful, there is no reason for a Women's T20 premier league to not be a success, provided it is promoted well.

Enough of ranting, now back to the watching the game, as the Kiwis begin their chase of the smallish Indian target of  143. Meanwhile hoping that the BCCI top mandarins wake up and cash in on this potential revenue stream.