Delhi: One fact which is not generally noted is that not a single one of India’s international female cricketers is married. This record is not current and has been true for the last few years. In recent years, even among the now retired cricketers, none has married. The names of Anjum Chopra, Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami are most special in this list.
Have you noticed that leave alone male international cricketers, the news (and often the photo too) of the marriage of a Ranji Trophy playing cricketer goes viral on social media but such news is not published about any Indian female cricketer. When BCCI made a policy for Team India cricketers to take their family along on the tour, it did not ban women cricketers but no one took them along. The only female cricketer whose marriage news has been published in recent years is Veda Krishnamurthy, but the truth is that she has not played international cricket since her marriage in 2023. Has played WPL. What is the reason that not only Anjum, Mithali and Jhulan are unmarried, current senior cricketers Harmanpreet and Smriti Mandhana are also unmarried?
In answer to this question, what Mithali Raj said in an interview is mentioned. While playing cricket, Mithali had decided to get married under family pressure, on the condition that she would not leave cricket. Then the person with whom they intended to marry asked them to leave cricket after marriage, so after that they decided not to marry. It has become a perception that as soon as marriage takes place, the cricket career of a female cricketer ends. If Veda is still playing even after marriage, it is because her husband Arjun Hoysala has himself played Ranji Trophy and is supporting her.
Harmanpreet will turn 36 in March and Smriti is younger than her and is 28 years old. There is no mention of any affair of Harmanpreet in the media, but Smriti has been in a relationship with singer and music composer Palash Muchhal for a few years, he is also seen with her in the stadium during big matches, but despite this friendship of many years, Smriti There is no indication from the side as to when they are getting married?
Even with relatively high social ties, Pakistan’s female cricketers are not only after marriage. Even after becoming a mother, she is playing international cricket. The biggest factor is the support of the family and especially the husband. It is because of this lack of confidence that Indian women cricketers are not getting married. Needless to say, now WPL has created more avenues for women cricketers related to cricket. Anjum became a media anchor, neither of Mithali and Jhulan went into active coaching but joined the WPL team. It is still the same thing that in the glory of cricket, the need to build a family has taken a backfoot. She herself is earning so much money and is so ‘independent’ that family pressure does not matter.
Mithali Raj has clearly said that she is ‘happy’ being single. There was a time when she thought about marriage in her younger days, but not anymore. Former cricketer Derek Pringle wrote in 2003 that cricket and family life were never easy partners. They say that now the situation has changed a bit, otherwise the wives of male cricketers also did not tolerate marriage easily. They argue for this as a count of divorce. Similar news and attitudes created fear among women cricketers too. It is not necessary that both husband and wife are cricketers and support each other’s cricket.