Women’s Premier League needs prime time telecast : Mithali Raj

Noida: Former captain of the Indian womens cricket team Mithali Raj poured her heart out in a new season of 'Duologue with Barun Das' on News9 Plus.

She shared her views on a host of topics including the WPL-where she mentors the Gujarat Giants team, building an ecosystem that encourages women to take up sports in India, BCCI’s "progressive pay parity" and her eagerness at taking up the role of a sports administrator.

Asked if she is ready to take up the role of an administrator after a successful cricketing career, Raj said, “Yes. If I can be part of any role in administration to chalk out the structure for the grass root level or to (create) a yearly calendar for women’s cricket… and always (be) there for women cricketers whenever they feel the need to talk something out.”

While recounting the multiple successes she encountered in her 23-year-long professional journey, Raj also candidly shared some of her regrets. “Despite being part of six world cups that I have played, I couldn’t get… the trophy. That probably is one thing that is missing in my cabin,” she expressed.

Being forthright comes naturally to the former captain. On the very first episode, she disclosed her reasons for announcing her retirement from cricket on social media on June 8, 2022.

Raj stressed on the critical role media plays in shaping public perception of female athletes and expressed her desire for furthering equal representation and opportunities as her male counterparts.

“Why BCCI is able to have a pay parity now is because for a long time the (women’s) team has been doing well. They have gradually started to market it because the team is giving results and marketing helped to let people come and watch or probably view it on any platform or television and that’s how you got digital rights. Other federations also need to do that,” she said.

About her confidence of women’s cricket attracting audiences, Raj said that marketing and timing are important. “If you don’t show the matches in prime time and if it is not a weekend, then I’m not sure if we can have crowds turning up for the matches,” she said on the upcoming Women’s Premier League slated for March 2023. However, she if confident about the format. “The WPL definitely will unearth a lot of stars of the future & increase the pool of talent that we have in our domestic structure,” she added. (UNI)