Shantha Rangaswamy is all set to be a part of the 9-member BCCI apex council. She is the female representative on the council and will be elected unopposed in the Indian Cricketers’ Association (ICA) elections.
Rangaswamy, who is a former India captain, never imagined that a woman cricketer will storm the male bastion of BCCI.
Rangaswamy told PTI on Friday, “Never ever in my dreams, I imagined I would be sitting on the board. I did not even imagine a male cricketer on the board, let alone us. Some may be cursing the Lodha reforms but it is only because of that, we finally have a voice in the board. It is like storming a male bastion.”
Rangaswamy hopes to implement her 5-point vision for women’s cricket in India. One agenda she wants to take forward is that retired women cricketers to have the same pension as that of former Ranji cricketers. She also believes that there should be an increase in the match fees of current female domestic players. She wants domestic women cricketers to be at par with men. “Domestic cricketers getting paid as much as the U-19 boys are unacceptable”, she told PTI.
Apart from that, Rangaswamy is looking forward to improving coaching in women’s cricket. The inclusion of women in the support staff of women’s team is also something that she wants to happen in the future.
Female representation in BCCI is a huge step towards the inclusion of women’s cricket in the country. Having played during the time when women’s cricket was not regulated by BCCI, Rangaswamy is aware of the struggles that women cricketers like her had to face during their playing days. Now as a powerful member of the board, she would like to push forward policies favoring female players of the sport.
Loves all things female cricket