Cricket and the maidens

In March 2023, the first season of the Women’s India Premier League, the world’s second most valuable cricketing league, behind only the men’s IPL, was played. Five teams battled it out to claim the crown, comprised of international teams of women cricketers at the top of their game who earned ten times more than they can elsewhere.

While Indian players dominated, there was another factor that marked them out - many Indian women cricketers are single. Yet India as a country still values the institution of marriage very highly, and single women often face challenges and discrimination in housing and the workplace.

As Indian women’s cricket has shot to the top of the global stage, how does this rapid change reflect broader changes in Indian society? Emma John, a cricket journalist and single woman herself, asks a range of single women in India about their experiences, and discovers how they think things are changing, for better and for worse.

With contributions from Dr Ketaki Chowkhani, professor of single studies at Manipal Centre for Humanities, Sreemoyee Kundu, author and founder of Status Single, representatives from the Rajasthan branch of the Association of Strong Women Alone, and cricket journalists Annesha Ghosh and Sharda Ugra.

Presenter: Emma John
Producer: Leonie Thomas
Executive producer: Steven Rajam
An Overcoat Media production for BBC World Service

(Photo: India's Mithali Raj, England v India, Women's Cricket World Cup, The 3aaa County Ground, Derby, Britain, 24 June, 2017. Credit: Jason Cairnduff/Reuters)