India’s impressive run in the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 ended with their final defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka on Sunday.
The eight-wicket defeat ignited a firestorm of criticism from cricket fans, who dubbed the women’s team “kitchen queens” for their lacklustre performance. While these remarks are uncalled for and I don’t endorse it, the backlash is more about cricket than gender.
Let’s face it: in the world of cricket, trolling and criticism are par for the course, regardless of whether the players are men or women. It is a byproduct of the fandom and the popularity the sport enjoys.
And, yes, it brings out the best and worst in fans.
When you win, the celebrations are wild, and the praise unending. Take the Indian men’s cricket team’s thumping victory in the T20 World Cup 2024 for instance. The victory parade in Mumbai was euphoric.
Or remember when Smriti Mandhana led RCB to their first-ever title, earlier this year? Fans stormed Bengaluru streets to celebrate.
At the same time, if you put up a poor show, the same fans feel entitled to tear you down. We’ve seen this countless times with the men’s cricket team, and now the women’s team is experiencing it too.
People claiming that men get sympathy on losing the World Cup final while women are getting slandered on losing the Asia Cup aren’t quite active on social media.
Did we forget the backlash after India’s final defeat in the World Test Championship and ODI Cricket World Cup last year?
A quick Google search will give you hundreds of instances, if not thousands, where the male cricketers were criticised and trolled for their performance.
Their personal lives and wives are also often dragged.
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The glass is half-full
India’s women cricket team’s journey to the finals was spectacular. They dominated the tournament and emerged as clear favourites.
But in the finals, their performance fell flat—poor fielding, dropped catches, and subpar wicket-keeping left fans disappointed and furious.
The uproar over the team’s defeat actually highlights a positive shift: Indians are genuinely invested in women’s cricket now.
Fans are watching it with the same passion and enthusiasm as they do men’s matches. It means that the women’s team has truly arrived on the big stage.
However, it’s true that fans often blur the lines when it comes to acceptable criticism. But, social media, unfortunately, is not a place for moral policing. This backlash cannot be curbed or regulated because, sadly, we aren’t living in an ideal world.
One Asia Cup loss doesn’t undermine the calibre of India’s women cricketers. After all, they have won seven out of nine Asia Cup titles.
But, if the team desires the same recognition and salaries as their male counterparts, they must also develop a thick skin to such criticism.
The team needs to brush off this defeat and take the criticism with a pinch of salt.
The T20 World Cup is on the horizon, and if the women in blue can showcase their cricketing prowess and bring home the cup, these same critics will be the first to join in the victory parade.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)