In a heartwarming gesture to honor India’s sporting excellence, Mumbai’s Churchgate Station has unveiled a tribute wall celebrating some of the country’s most iconic athletes and coaches. Installed within the city’s busiest suburban railway terminus, the display recognizes individuals whose achievements have left a lasting impact on the nation’s sporting landscape. Among those featured is Diana Edulji, a true pioneer of Indian women’s cricket, whose influence extends far beyond her playing days, as she helped to lay the groundwork for the sport’s growth and recognition across the country.
Edulji’s cricketing journey began in an era when women playing competitive sport was still met with raised eyebrows. Yet she went on to enjoy a remarkable 17-year international career, playing in three ICC Women’s World Cups and leading India in two, 1978 and 1993. Her record speaks volumes – only two women have taken more Test wickets than her, and none have sent down more deliveries. She claimed 14 wickets in the 1993 World Cup and delivered her best Test figures 6/64 against Australia at Delhi, eight years after scoring a half-century in her second Test.
But Edulji was more than her statistics. Her real revolution came off the field. In 1984, she convinced the then Railways Minister to field a women’s cricket team under Indian Railways. That conversation changed the course of Indian women’s cricket forever. Railways soon became the dominant force in domestic cricket and remains so to this day. Edulji herself led the side to 11 national titles, after having already won three with Mumbai.
Today, as her name looks down from the Churchgate tribute wall, alongside stalwarts like Nari Contractor and Dinesh Lad, it’s not just a celebration of cricketing excellence, but of quiet, determined leadership. A tribute carved into one of Mumbai’s busiest lifelines for a woman who, for years, carried Indian women’s cricket on hers.
The city may soon take another step to honour her legacy, with a proposal set to be discussed at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) Annual General Meeting on April 15, to rename the Wankhede Stadium’s North foot-over bridge after Diana Edulji. While stands at the iconic venue are named after legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and Dilip Vengsarkar, this move, if approved, would mark the first time a woman cricketer is similarly honoured at the ground.
The proposal to rename the foot-over bridge after Edulji was formally submitted by Shafique Patel of Apollo Cricket Club and Shahalam Shaikh, former MCA joint secretary and representative of Stylo Cricketers.
In their letter to the MCA, the duo highlighted Edulji’s unwavering dedication to the sport and the association, calling her a pioneer and an inspiration for generations. Citing her on-field excellence and her off-field contributions, they urged the association to honour her legacy in a manner befitting her stature. “Naming the bridge in her honour would be a fitting tribute to her extraordinary achievements,” the letter reads.
Diana Edulji’s story is not one of grand gestures or loud headlines. It’s one of persistence, resilience, and results. And now, finally, it’s a story being told where it belongs, on the walls of the city she gave so much to, and perhaps soon, on the bridge that leads to the field she helped transform.
(Excerpts from the letter sourced from The Times of India)
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