‘I wouldn’t let women’s cricket happen’: N Srinivasan’s old comment resurfaces after World Cup victory | Cricket News

After the Indian women’s cricket team’s historic World Cup triumph on Sunday, an old comment by former BCCI president N. Srinivasan has resurfaced – in which the veteran administrator allegedly told former Indian captain Diana Edulji that he would “never let women’s cricket grow in India”.»At an event in 2017, after Harmanpreet Kaur’s magnificent 171 against Australia in the Women’s World Cup semi-final, Diana had recalled her first meeting with Srinivasan after he took over as BCCI president in 2011. She said, “When Mr. Srinivasan became president, I went to congratulate him at the Wankhede Stadium. He said, ‘If I could afford it, I wouldn’t let women’s cricket happen.’ He hates women’s cricket.

“I have always been a critic of the BCCI, ever since the day women’s cricket came under the BCCI fold in 2006. The BCCI is a very macho organization. They never wanted women to dictate terms or enter that space. I was very vocal from my playing days,” she had said.India won the Women’s Cricket World Cup for the first time with a 52-run win over South Africa on Sunday, thanks to brilliant all-round performances from Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma.Opening batter Verma, who was only recalled to the team to cover injuries in the final, scored a career-best 87 off 78 balls as the tournament co-hosts reached 298/7 in 50 overs after losing the toss and being sent into bat.South Africa were bowled out for 246 in 45.3 overs in reply, their chase effectively ending after skipper Laura Wolvaardt was dismissed for 101. Spinner Sharma took the last wicket of the match and returned with figures of 5/39 from 9.3 overs.On Sunday, Harmanpreet Kaur, captain of the World Cup-winning Indian team, also took a subtle dig at those who had questioned her team.“I think criticism is also a part of life. Not everything has to be good,” she told reporters.“Criticism is one of the main things in life because it brings balance. Otherwise, if everything goes well, you will be overconfident. I don’t blame those who criticize, because we know when we are not doing something right.

“I don’t have much to say, but I like to keep the two things in balance. When good things happen, I don’t go too high; when bad things happen, I don’t dig deep.“For me, the most important thing is to stay balanced, and I try to send the same message to my teammates. When things are going well, it’s good, well done, but now you have to keep it going. And even when things aren’t going well, we try to keep everyone together so we can bring that person up.”