The journeys of India’s 16 ICC Women’s World Cup winners to the pinnacle of their sport are both inspiring and empowering; the barriers they leapt over were of several hues, from gender bias to socio-economic strangle, from cultural clutches to prejudiced perceptions. They have broken new ground and ensured that half the Indian population can never be kept out of the cricketing discourse. Meet the pioneers who ended the Indian women’s cricket team’s long wait for a senior ICC title.
Inspirational captain: Harmanpreet Kaur
Age: 36
Role: Middle-order batter
Moga, Punjab
One of India’s greatest, Harmanpreet Kaur will forever be remembered for that 171* against Australia in the 2017 World Cup semifinal. It wasn’t a one-off though, the girl from Moga has always saved her best for the big occasion. Her first ODI century came in the 2013 edition against England; she even scored a T20I century at the 2018 World Cup, the first Indian woman to achieve that feat. Father Harmandar Bhullar wanted one of his kids to take up sport, and when Harmanpreet was born, he bought a T-shirt with ‘good batsman’ printed on it, which would prove prophetic. Harmanpreet would accompany her father to the stadium opposite their home to play cricket with the local boys. Coach Kamaldeesh Singh Sodhi put her in an academy in Tarapur. Brother Gurjinder Singh would take her to play local matches and Harmanpreet would dominate playing against boys. Memorably, after she hit a six over extra cover in WBBL 2016, Adam Gilchrist tweeted: ‘Seriously impressed with Harmanpreet. Classy, skillful.’ It’s something she cherishes.