Ladies’s cricket in India has skilled exponential progress, with participation doubling throughout 14 states since 2020, in accordance with a research commissioned by the BBC and Collective Newsroom.
The survey, which coated over 10,000 girls, has discovered that the share of girls who say they play cricket has risen from 5 per cent in 2020 to 10 per cent now. The participation of younger girls is rising even sooner, as 16 per cent of these aged 15 to 24 say they play cricket in contrast with six per cent in 2020.
“The analysis additionally finds that one in 4 younger girls aged 15 to 24 have thought of sport as a profession choice,” in accordance with the research.
The Indian girls’s cricket staff has been on a excessive just lately, profitable its maiden ODI World Cup and defeating Australia in a bilateral three-match T20I collection for the primary time in a decade, a surge that may be contributing to the game’s rising recognition.
Cricket has overtaken conventional sport kabaddi, which has lengthy been a favorite in India’s hinterlands, by an enormous margin.
“Cricket has additionally strengthened its place as probably the most performed sport amongst girls within the states surveyed. In 2020, it solely narrowly edged previous kabaddi, however the brand new figures counsel it’s now firmly forward.
“Participation has elevated throughout most areas. All however two of the states surveyed report an increase within the variety of girls enjoying cricket. In Uttar Pradesh, ranges of participation have elevated 10-fold, from one per cent to 10 per cent. The gender hole in cricket participation throughout the states coated has additionally narrowed.”
The research additionally exhibits that for each girl who performs cricket, three males play the game, in contrast with a ratio of 1 to 5 in 2020.
As for profession curiosity, 26 per cent of younger girls aged 15 to 24 say they’ve thought of a profession in sport, up from 16 per cent in 2020, with the very best ranges reported in Tamil Nadu (27 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (19 per cent), and Meghalaya (19 per cent), the research stated.
The participation in badminton has additionally risen among the many girls surveyed, particularly in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Nevertheless, extra girls might get drawn in the direction of sport if their security issues are correctly addressed, the report says.
“13 per cent of girls who don’t play any sport cite security issues as a barrier.”
Rupa Jha, the Editor in Chief and co-founder of Collective Newsroom, stated: “The findings present each progress and persevering with boundaries. Whereas participation and viewership are rising quick, stereotypes and sensible challenges stay.
“We hope this information will immediate additional dialogue and motion to assist girls athletes.”
Printed on Mar 13, 2026