How the Indian women’s team seized our attention as they toured England

Two years ago, Shafali Verma was unfound. Two months ago, Sneh Rana was forsaken. Two weeks ago, Harleen Deol was anonymous. When people question the depth in women’s cricket, it’s these players they ask about. Are the unknowns good enough? Look at me, they say.

She’s competing with Wimbledon, where a Serbian is pushing human limits, and an Australian is denting racism. She’s competing with the Euros, a competition that has consumed the country she’s in. She’s competing against a side who are on a 11-match T20I winning streak and have never been beaten on the ground they’re playing at.

India's Harleen Deol took a stunning catch to dismiss England’s Amy Jones during the 1st T20I at Northampton. (Action Images via Reuters)

Harleen Deol doesn’t think about any of this when she catches the ball, then lets it go again. She doesn’t worry about odds or eyeballs when she steps out of reality, and then dives back in, redefining it. She doesn’t know that she’s taken what could well be the first catch of its kind in women’s international cricket.

Look at me, she demands.

The world obeys. From the Prime Minister to your least favourite aunty. From cartoonists to car dealers. From news anchors to influencers. Everyone is talking about her catch. Everyone is looking because of what she’s done.

India had not played a Test in seven years. Sneh Rana had not played an international game in five years. But at the start of this tour, Rana starred in a 104-run unbeaten partnership for the ninth wicket that drew a Test match India should have lost. In a format she had no training for, Rana finished 80*. India finished with a draw that felt like a win.

Look at me, she insisted.

Shafali Verma scored 159 runs in her first Test. 114 of those runs were in boundaries. But there were also 170 dots across two innings. Restraint is not something they teach in school or you buy on a shelf. Verma is learning it on the job, while facing some of the mightiest bowlers in the game. Even in the T20 format, after scoring 48 off 38 balls in the second T20I, she’s livid when she gets out. That knock contained a sequence of five boundaries. And a maiden over in the Powerplay. The Verma of old would have lost patience. The Verma of today is hungry for hundreds.

Look at me, she demands. And when she bats, you can’t look anywhere else.

Look also at where they come from. Harleen’s catch is no accident. It is bred by professionalism. To pull off a catch like that, you need the core strength of a gymnast, the balance of a ballet dancer, and hands of, well, an Indian cricketer. Deol belongs to a generation which doesn’t have to spend half it’s time in a Railway office, like mine did. She doesn’t have to sacrifice gym time at the altar of financial security. India introduced central contracts in 2015 (the last top cricketing nation to do so), and now we have players who train full-time.

Look what happens when you invest in your players.

Sneh Rana has experience. She’s played 85 List A games at the domestic level. So she knows how to keep her shape (and her head) while looking for boundaries in a tense chase, as she did scoring 24 off 22 to help Mithali Raj guide India home in the third ODI. She’s 27, and it’s taken her a decade to play less than 100 games. Imagine if there was an interzonal tournament, or an Under-16 tournament. Imagine how much faster we could produce Sneh Rana’s.

Look what can happen when players have game time.

Shafali Verma is the World’s No. 1 ranked batter in T20Is at 17. She was discovered in an exhibition match, the second edition of the Women’s T20 Challenge. A tournament that has not grown since then, and will not be organised this year. A tournament that must and will grow into a proper Women’s IPL, but when, no one knows.

Look at what we’re missing out on.

Look also at where they need to go. India lost the multiformat series 4-2 and were behind in every format. They struggled to set scores north of 250 in the ODIs, which is a concern with a World Cup just nine months away. There are more questions about the perfect XI and the right batting order than there is time to solve them.

Look at the problems, of which there are many.

But look also at the signs. Two years ago, Shafali Verma was unfound. Two months ago, Sneh Rana was forsaken. Two weeks ago, Harleen Deol was anonymous. When people question the depth in women’s cricket, it’s these players they ask about.

Are the unknowns good enough?

Look at me, they say.