Hit for six: why India’s Women’s Cricket World Cup win is victory for equality
Sacrifices made to reach final – defying social stigma, lack of resources and juggling jobs between training – makes victory still more extraordinaryGrowing up in rural India, Shafali Verma always knew she had a hunger to play cricket. But in her small town of Rohtak, in the north Indian state...
<p>Sacrifices made to reach final – defying social stigma, lack of resources and juggling jobs between training – makes victory still more extraordinary</p><p>Growing up in rural India, Shafali Verma always knew she had a hunger to play cricket. But in her small town of Rohtak, in the north Indian state of Haryana, cricket was not a game for girls. Aged nine, desperate to play, she cut her hair short, entered a tournament disguised as her brother, and went on to win man of the match.</p><p>Verma’s determined father, Sanjeev, in the face of refusal from every cricket academy or training centre who would not accept his daughter, enrolled her as a boy. “Luckily, nobody noticed,” he <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/shafali-verma-s-father-reveals-india-s-youngest-t20i-debutant-trained-as-a-boy-in-rohtak/story-SxXqaWIvYo79vzWgc6J2cL.html">recalled</a>, as Verma made her debut for the national women’s team at 15 years old.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/07/india-women-cricket-world-cup-win-victory-equality">Continue reading...</a>
Read the full article at:
The Guardian World →