Bold Indian bid to play a mixed gender T20 cricket game

Virat Kohli is one of the faces at the front of a bold new cricket initiative — but whether it’s genuine or a headline-grabbing stunt is up for debate.

Imagine a world where Mitchell Starc stands at the top of his mark with the new ball, charges in and lets fly with a 150km/h bouncer — directed at his wife.

Or a time when Ellyse Perry dances down the pitch and whips a Ravi Ashwin carrom ball to the mid-wicket boundary.

We doubt Starc would ever be so inclined to try and hit his better half — Australian wicketkeeper Alyssa — in the head with a shiny Kookaburra, but the day when men and women share the cricket field may be getting closer.

An Indian company is hoping to rock the cricket world after revealing its intent to stage a mixed gender T20 match.

Royal Challenge Sports Drink wants to bring the radical idea to life and it included some of India’s biggest male and female stars in a clip released on social media to build up hype for what would be a groundbreaking occasion.

The promotional video included men’s captain Virat Kohli and swashbuckling women’s batter Harmanpreet Kaur, while a narrator read out an inspirational message espousing gender equality.

When it comes to cricket, it is believed that men and women don't play the same game.
That women lack the pace, intensity and power.
But we say - #ChallengeAccepted.
We’re changing the game with the first-ever mixed gender T20 match. Support us by voting below.

— Royal Challenge #ChallengeAccepted (@RCGameforLife) April 2, 2019

Royal Challenge has asked people to vote on whether they support the concept. In a Twitter poll of more than 11,500 people, nearly 80 per cent of the vote was in favour of the idea.

But the initiative didn’t win over everyone. ESPNCricinfo journalist Raf Nicholson suggested the “publicity stunt” did more to demean women’s cricket than empower it, as some questioned whether there would be a genuine attempt to hold the match, or whether it was purely for Royal Challenge to gain extra exposure.

Nicholson’s Cricinfo colleague Melinda Farrell also weighed in, suggesting a stand-alone women’s T20 competition would represent a bigger step forward than a one-off gimmick.

VERY far from convinced of the usefulness of this kind of stunt. All it does is promote the idea that women cricketers are only worthy of attention if playing alongside men. A better message is that women's cricket is an incredible product in its own right. https://t.co/Ewa5xTUz8U

— Raf Nicholson (@RafNicholson) April 2, 2019

Yeah the imagery and monologue are really stirring. Similar to some of CA’s #watchthis campaign. A sustainable comp worth more in the long run than a gimmick imho. I hope I’m wrong.

— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) April 2, 2019

I’d rather see a women’s IPL. Quite surprised by this.

— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) April 2, 2019

It was a sentiment shared by others on social media.

I'm pleased that Harmanpreet Kaur is earning some endorsement money but how about putting some proper focus on developing a viable professional women's cricket base instead? #WIPL

— Rick Eyre on cricket (@rickeyrecricket) April 2, 2019

Anyway, if the mixed-gender game comes off then good luck to everyone involved. But it's cart before the horse stuff when India lags the rest of the cricketing world (including Nepal) in providing a regular elite T20 competition to its female players.

— Rick Eyre on cricket (@rickeyrecricket) April 2, 2019

However, the players were behind the idea. Indian women’s captain Mithali Raj took to Twitter to voice her support, though given she featured in the promo, she was hardly going to be anything but positive.

“If we are quiet, who’s going to change the world? Let’s break stereotypes, let’s strive for a world that is equal. I’m joining hands with @rcgameforlife to say #ChallengeAccepted,” Raj tweeted.

Fellow star Veda Krishnamurthy was in the same boat, adding: “This is the perfect time to change the game and when there is a challenge around, I’m always saying ‘Accepted’. I’m teaming up with @rcgameforlife for the first ever mixed gender T20 match. Are you game?”

Kohli also backed the concept in a press release. “Be it men or women, cricket is one game, and I want to urge fans to break the boundaries that exist in their mind that divides the sport by gender,” Kohli said.

“Equality in sports is ultimately a reflection of equality in life, and if we want a better tomorrow, then we need to say #ChallengeAccepted and start breaking down all stereotypes.”

However, the fact no date has been set adds to the uncertainty about whether the match will definitely go ahead. Former Indian cricketer turned journalist Snehal Pradhan suggested Royal Challengers Bangalore players would be involved in a match after the World Cup if enough people voted to show their support for the concept.

According to RCB spokespeople, this match will be conducted if they get enough votes on social media (smart campaign). The three women in the ad will be participating, plus other female cricketers and RCB players. The match will be "sometime post World Cup".... https://t.co/WbHtLZnkLl

— Snehal Pradhan (@SnehalPradhan) April 2, 2019

Royal Challenge sponsors Kohli’s IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have been having a rough trot in the lucrative T20 tournament. They’re winless from four matches and the captain is yet to pass 50, making scores of 6, 46, 3 and 23.

The shocking start to the season has left RCB on the bottom of the ladder as the only team not to have won a game. Most recently the side went down to the Rajasthan Royals, who secured a seven-wicket win by cantering to 3/164 in their run chase on the back of Jos Buttler’s 59.

Kohli has never won the IPL title and bemoaned Bangalore’s failure to set a more challenging target against Rajasthan as well as dropped catches in the field.

“If we make that many mistakes then you are going to fall on the losing side,” Kohli said.

“In a tournament like the IPL, when you have no momentum then these things can happen.

“The team hasn’t got off to a good start and these things look really bad but we have to keep believing that we can turn things around.”

Kohli acknowledged that the injury-hit team may need changes as he said: “We will sit down and talk to see how we can balance our team.

“Hopefully we will get fresh guys in and they can give a matchwinning performance.”

With AFP