Bollywood star Shibani Dandekar fronts Tourism Australia women’s cricket campaign

One of India’s biggest stars has been recruited in a bid to lure the country’s fanatical cricket fans to the Women’s T20 World Cup.

They are our fastest growing tourism market – worth about $1.8 billion – and now T20 organisers are hoping India’s fanatical cricket fan base will help achieve a world record for biggest ever crowd at a women’s sporting match at the MCG in March.

The Federal Government has pitched $5 million into a Tourism Australia campaign to promote the T20 World Cup to the Indian market, which has tripled in size over the past decade, with the calling card of #LedByWomen.

Joining pop superstar Katy Perry in spearheading a push to draw attention to the women’s game is Indian model, singer and Bollywood actress Shibani Dandekar, who has been recruited by Tourism Australia to attract Indian fans Down Under.

Bollywood actress Shibani Dandekar is proud to be drawing attention to women’s cricket. Picture: Instagram

Following the phenomenal success of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, which was co-hosted by Australia and saw approximately 100,000 international visitors, this campaign is aimed at attracting a record number of visitors for the women’s and men’s World Cups.

Shibani said: “It doesn’t get bigger than a world cup in cricket and I am glad to be a part of this effort to draw attention to the women’s game as it so rightly deserves.”

“A sporting event of this magnitude is a fantastic and powerful opportunity for us to alter the course of women’s sport … and I hope we can all come together to make a difference.”

Her comments follow a recent Twitter exchange between the Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has more than 50 million Twitter followers, about the tournament in which Modi tweeted “And our cricket fans are the liveliest”.

Indian fans getting excited before the final one day international cricket match between Australia and India at the SCG. Picture: Mark Evans

Latest ABS figures from September show in the past 12 months, 386,400 Indian travellers visited Australia, up 11.8 per cent on last year and as of June, spending was up 17 per cent to $1.7 billion.

Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison said the two country’s shared passion for the cricket made Australia’s hosting of the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup a great tourism opportunity, but also a chance to give women’s sports the recognition it doesn’t always receive.

“We’ve deliberately made the women’s tournament a big focus of our current marketing activities in India, including getting T20 cricket presenter Shibani Dandekar to co-commentate our new World Cup cricket ad alongside Harsha Bhogle and Brett Lee,” she said.

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Shibani Dandekar is also a model. Picture: Raajessh Kashyap/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

“With their first game (less than 100 days away) we want as many people as possible to support the women’s T20 tournament … and help us set a world attendance record at the women’s final being played on International Women’s Day,” she said.

The magnitude of the moment in March – and the opportunity to set a world record – is not lost on one of Australia’s best cricketers Ellyse Perry: “What an opportunity to get on the country’s biggest sporting stage.”

“No pressure to make the final!

“It’s such a great privilege to be part of this and we really hope to be part of creating history.”