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An all girls cricket team in India breaks with tradition

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2 years ago

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Gulab Singh Shergill believes girls in his village deserve a shot at chasing their dreams (pic BBC)

More than a dozen young girls from a small village cycle through farmland in the Indian state of Punjab.

Moving along a dirt pathway, dressed all in white, their excitement starts to build. Amid the miles of wheat fields, emerges the source of their joy: two cricket pitches, with plastic wickets and strip of concrete from where they can bat.

If it conjures images of the 1989 Hollywood film, Field of Dreams,   it wouldn’t be too far from the truth. These 18 girls make up the Gulab Singh Cricket Team.

Cricket is the most popular sport in India, akin to a religion many would say. While it continues to remain a male-dominated game, things are changing.

Earlier this year, India started a women’s cricket premier league (WPL), a female version of the Indian Premier League (IPL). It has quickly become one of the world’s most lucrative women’s franchises, second only to the Women’s National Basketball Associate in the US.

Women in India have been active – and high performing – in cricket for many years. The WPL has catapulted them into mainstream popularity. Now they get the kind of media attention only reserved for men’s teams.

In October, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the governing body of Indian cricket. said all contracted female cricketers would be paid the the same match fee as men – a historic decision to promote “gender equality” in the country’s most-loved game.

Despite the changes on the national level, it can still be difficult for girls to be afforded the opportunity to play, especially in rural towns. “I created this cricket team to make their lives better,” says Gulab Singh Shergill, 35, who started this plucky little league four years ago.


Gulab Singh Shergill started the little league four years ago (pic BBC)

Partly to live out his failed dreams of playing cricket professionally and mostly because he really believes the girls in the village deserve a shot. “They don’t get permission to get a higher education, only getting to tenth class,” he says. After that, it’s a life of cooking and cleaning until they are married and sent to live with their in-laws.

His players are being exposed to something different. Every day, they come here, park their bikes under a tree behind the batting area and head to the grassy field where they start warming up.

Simranjit Kaur, 13, is learning to bowl. She runs down the pitch, rotates her arm and lets the leather ball out of her hand. Her height allows her to get speed and she says her accuracy is starting to improve. She is quiet and soft spoken, still very much the frame of a child but has had to grow up fast. After her mother died suddenly three years ago, her grandmother has become her primary caretaker, along with her two younger sisters, aged 10 and three. She joined the team a few years ago after seeing them play in a tournament in a neighbouring village with her father, a cricket enthusiast. “My father asked me if I would like to play,” she said in the courtyard of her house. “I said yes. So he asked the coach if I could join. And he said to come the next day.”


Simranjit Kaur (right) is learning to bowl (pic BBC)

In the morning before going to school, Simranjit crouches by a stove next to her grandmother, making rotis for the family. After school, instead of being stuck inside like many girls her age, with the support of her father and grandmother, she throws on her cricket whites and heads to practice, her sister in tow.

“There’s an ill thinking in villages,” says Baljeet Kaur, Simran’s grandmother. “They say that girls should be married and sent off to her in-laws, as if they have got no life. Sometimes people in village tell us why are you sending girls for playing. This is our wish and we want them to play.”

When asked how she feels when people discourage her, Simranjit says, “I don’t want to stop playing, this is my life. I feel really bad because I really like cricket, I really like playing.”

Cricket is not Shergill’s full-time job; he works as a constable in the local police force.

The players pay for nothing, he says. His entire salary goes to the girls’ team: paying for a part time coach, getting uniforms and equipment. He has donated a part of his land for the cricket pitch and hopes to  build an office with a toilet one day.

It’s only been four years but in that time he’s been able to expose these girls to a life beyond the bounds of their village.

“Now we are also able to have matches between girls and boys,” he says. “That makes them proud of themselves. Now they are able to tell their parents that ‘I can do it.'”

For these girls, playing cricket is a break from the societal duties that come with being a girl. For a few hours a day, they shed gender norms and are able to be kids.

“When we are playing a match, I feel like I am wearing a jersey for Team India,” says 10-year-old Harsimrit Kaur. “When I hit a six, I know I did it for India. When I play I feel only one thing, that I am not playing for India now but I will play for India’s cricket team someday.”


Harsimrat Kaur, 10, says playing a match feels like ‘I am wearing a jersey for Team India’ (pic BBC)

Shergill has the support of strong women too. His eldest sister, Jasveer Kaur, affectionately called Bua, is one of Shergill’s biggest champions. She comes to the pitch at least once a week to comfort players that get hurt or just to watch. She knows too well the pressures of being a woman in this society.

Married at 19, becoming a mother shortly thereafter, Jasveer cries at the thought of any of these girls meeting the same fate. “All my feeling and hopes were suppressed because I was a woman,” she says. “I was asked to work at home and cook also. Now I want that if I can help girls to do something I don’t need anything else in life. I want to use all my power to help girls grow.”

Shergill may be selling a dream to become a professional cricket player and represent India around the world. But the lessons he is teaching the these young women is so much more valuable.

“There is no difference between a girl and a boy,” says Simranjit. “Whatever boys can do, girls can do too.”

(BBC)


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A good Samaritan

Published

9 hours ago

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2026/03/26

By

Ruchira Palliyaguruge

by Rex Clementine

Last week, the scorebooks of school cricket needed a fresh rewrite as Kingswood College, Kandy broke a 68-year hoodoo to clinch their Big Match against Dharmaraja College in the hill capital. Almost in tandem, down south, another long wait ended when St. Servatius’ College, Matara turned the tables on arch-rivals St. Thomas’ College, Matara, sealing a famous win after 55 years.

St. Servatius’ rise has not been a flash in the pan. For the better part of 15 years, they have been punching well above their weight, taking guard in Division 1 and holding their own against the heavyweights. The production line has not dried either, with a steady stream of Sri Lanka Under-19 cricketers making their mark on bigger stages. In many ways, they have helped put outstation cricket back on the front foot.

Behind the sightscreen, however, stands a quiet architect. Ruchira Palliyaguruge, a name that may not grab headlines but one that has been doing the hard yards. A former teammate of Sanath Jayasuriya at St. Servatius’, Ruchira was no mug with the bat or ball, enjoying a prolific domestic career after narrowly missing the national cap.

Post-retirement, he swapped spikes for the white coat, rising through the ranks to officiate on the ICC panel, standing in matches across the globe. But his most telling contribution has come away from the glare of international arenas.

In the aftermath of the Big Match triumph, it emerged that for two decades Ruchira had been quietly footing the bill for the school’s cricket coaches, no drum roll, no fanfare, just a man playing a straight bat for a cause close to his heart.

This has not been merely about opening his wallet. He has invested time, energy and know-how, ensuring the game at St. Servatius’ keeps moving in the right direction. Even after the boys hang up their school caps, he has remained in their corner, helping them find employment and navigate life beyond the boundary.

Good Samaritans like Ruchira are the need of the hour if outstation cricket is to stay in the game. While Colombo schools enjoy the luxury of deep pockets and old boys’ networks, many rural schools are forced to play on a sticky wicket. It is through the generosity and vision of individuals like him that the game continues to tick over smoothly beyond the city limits.

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Wins for Inqube Global , WSO2, Star Garments, MAS Active Kreeda, CDB ‘B’ and Wiley Global Technology on Sunday [22]

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9 hours ago

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2026/03/26

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15TH STAFFORD MOTORS – MCA G DIVISION T20 LEAGUE CRICKET TOURNAMENT

Inqube Global, WSO2, Star Garments, MAS Active Kreeda , CDB ‘B’ and Wiley Global Technology emerged victorious in the league stage matches of the Stafford Motors sponsored, MCA G division T20 League Cricket Tournament played on Sunday 22nd March.

At the SLC Ground in Banadaragama, Kanishka Eshan grabbed four wickets and Hiranga Jayasinghe and Suresh Madusanka chipped in with 40 runs and 30 runs respectively to help Inqube Global beat Swisstek Ceylon by four wickets to lead group F of the tournament. Daminda Wijekoon contributed 58 runs off 38 balls for the losers. In the afternoon game at the same venue Dimutu Madushan captured four wickets to help WSO2 defeated Hayleys Group by five wickets .

At the Royal College Grounds, Star Garments registered their fourth win in four outings defeating Pyramid Wilmar by one wicket in the penultimate ball of their innings. In a group B game played in the afternoon, MAS Active Kreeda consigned group leaders Emar Pharma to their second defeat in the tournament.

At de Mazenod College Grounds in Kandana, Chathuranga Dikkumbura and Isuru Jayaranga scored 39 runs each to help CDB ‘B’ registered a net run rate boosting ten wicket win over Sysco Labs. In the afternoon match Panitha Dangalla and Sayuru Wanasinghe guided Wiley Global Technology to a five wicket win over 99X.

At SLC Grounds Bandaragama:

Inqube Global won by 4 wickets

Swisstek Ceylon 174/8 in 20 overs

[Lasith Karunathilake 10, Danidu Wijekoon 58, Tihan Senanayake 17, Dushmantha Dias 33, Lahiru Piyumal 25, Nadeera Liyanage 16; Isuru Lakshan 1-21, Lahiru Subashana 1-35, Kanishka Eshan 4-25]

Inqube Global 175/6 in 19.5 overs

[Hiranga Jayasinghe 40, Isuru Lakshan 18, Suresh Madusanka 30, Sanindu Deshan 23*, Upul Chandra 23; Dushmantha Dias 1-16, Tihan Senanayake 1-25, Saranga Lakshan 1-18, Lahiru Piyumal 1-18, Gamini Wanasinghe 2-35]

WSO2 won by five wickets

Hayleys Group 127/8 in 20 overs

[Adeesha Jayarathna 50, Dilan Suraweera 13, Lasantha Prabath 31*; Dimuthu Madushan 4-19, Osanda Herath 1-25, Oshanda Yomal 2-24, Dev Wijewarden 1-14]

WSO2 132/5 in 18.5 overs

[Devin Jayasinghe 42, Isuru Ruhunage 31, Kaveesha Rajapaksha 19, Osanda Herath 13, Dev Wijewardena 15*; Mahesh Deepal 1-15, Lasantha Prabath 1-45, Pasindu Adithya 2-14, Sumudu Marasinghe 1-39]

At Royal College Grounds:

Star Garments won by 1 wicket

Pyramid Wilmar 140/10 in 20 overs

[Lasith Fernando 54, Shanaka Fernando 24, Sahas Vihanga 21; Randu Fernando 2-25, Dunik Perer 1-29, Dhanuka Dulanjana 1-21, Yohan Aloka 2-25, Rishantha Anushka 2-19]

Star Garments 141/9 in 19.5 overs

[Nadeesha Rajakaruna 12, Chathuranga Dilshan 13, Yohan Aloka 25, Shakila de Silva 22, Randu Fernando 20, Dhanuka Dulanjana 17*; Budhdhika Herath 2-22, Udesh Nishan 3-23, Umeda Madusha 2-23, Upeksha Lakshan 2-31]

MAS Active Kreeda won by 5 wickets

Emar Pharma 101/10 in 20 overs [Janith Jayasinghe 23, Devinda Ayesh 26, Dishan Hettiarachchi 30; Suventhiran Subikaran 2-28, Adeesha Miyusara 1-18, Sivakumar Partheepan 3-12, Kanesh Piratheepan 2-23]

MAS Active Kreeda 103/4 in 12.1 overs

[Jineetha Malith 14, Adeesha Miyusara 28, Suventhiran Subikaran 29*; Deshan Fernado 3-34, Rajendran Sagitharan 1-21]

At De Mazenod College Grounds

CDB ‘B’ won by 10 wickets

Sysco Labs 79/9 in 13 overs

[Bhagya Dissanayake 20, Chathura Hennanayake 10; Vishwa Dhananjaya 2-14, Chamod Madushan 2-17, Dhanushka Dharmasiri 1-08, Dasun Senevirathne 1-09]

CDB ‘B’ 82/0 in 20 overs

[Chathuranga Dikkumbura 39*, Isuru Jayaranga 39*]

Panitha and Sayuru power Wiley Gliobal to a 5 wicket win

99X 122/7 in 20 overs

[Sachith Jayasinghe 14, Ishrath Raji 35, Sameera Piyasundera 18, Saranga Liyanage 19; Sayuru Wanasinghe 1-13, Lilan Karunarathne 1-14, Omal Bhagya 2-25]

Wiley Global Technology 125/5 in 15.4 overs

[Thushara Peiris 19, Lilan Karunarathne 15, Panitha Dangalla 40*, Sayuru Wanasinghe 25*; Sachith Jayasinghe 1-31, Kushan Rathnayake 2-21, Ishrath Raji 1-21, Saranga Liyanage 1-19]

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Deneth ton, Mevindu five-for highlight Dharmaloka–Sumangala quarter-final battle

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9 hours ago

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2026/03/26

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Kaveen Deneth / Mevindu Kumarasiri

An impressive century by opener Kaveen Deneth and a five-wicket haul from Mevindu Kumarasiri highlighted an absorbing first day in the Under 19 Division I Tier B quarter-final between Sri Dharmaloka College, Kelaniya and Sri Sumangala College, Panadura played at Kuruvita on Wednesday.

‎After winning the toss and electing to bowl first, Sri Sumangala kept the pressure on by striking at regular intervals. However, Deneth produced a determined innings to anchor the Sri Dharmaloka batting line-up and keep his team in the contest.

‎Sri Sumangala made the early breakthrough in only the second over when paceman Sihas Nethdinu dismissed Mewan Randeepana without scoring. Deneth then shared a brief partnership with Tharusha Mihiranga, whose 24-ball stay produced just seven runs.

‎With Sri Dharmaloka struggling at 30 for 2 in the 10th over, Deneth steadied the innings and received useful support from the middle order. Senuka Pehesara contributed 29 runs, while Chanul Nethsitha (17) and Koshitha Adithya (19) also chipped in with valuable runs.

‎Deneth’s patient knock of 106 off 161 balls, which included 12 fours and two sixes, proved crucial in holding the innings together as Sri Dharmaloka were eventually bowled out for 211 in 76.3 overs.

‎Sri Sumangala’s bowling honours went to Mevindu Kumarasiri, who delivered a tireless spell and finished with impressive figures of 5 for 82 in 32.3 overs, emerging as the standout bowler of the day.

‎In reply, Sri Sumangala encountered early trouble as spinner Sathindu Prabodha struck in successive overs to put the Panadura side under pressure.

‎At stumps on day one, Sri Sumangala were struggling at 11 for 2, setting up an intriguing second day in this closely contested quarter-final encounter.

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