Highlights:
- Women’s cricket participation doubled from 5 per cent to 10 per cent nationwide since 2020.
- Youth involvement surged, with 16 per cent of women aged 15-24 now playing cricket.
- Cricket has overtaken kabaddi as the most popular sport among women.
- Gender gap narrowing: now three men play for every woman, improved from 5:1 in 2020.
- About 26 per cent of young women are considering sports as a career.
The Harmanpreet Kaur–Smriti Mandhana era is not only redefining Indian women’s cricket on the field but also influencing broader societal trends, encouraging a new generation of female athletes. A recent study commissioned by the BBC and Collective Newsroom surveyed over 10,000 women across 14 states, revealing that participation in women’s cricket has doubled since 2020.
The survey showed that the overall share of women playing cricket has risen from 5 per cent in 2020 to 10 per cent in 2026.
Among young women aged 15 to 24, participation has increased even more dramatically, jumping from 6 per cent to 16 per cent. Nearly one in four of these young women is now considering sports as a viable career option.
This rise coincides with the Indian women’s team achieving major milestones, including winning their maiden ODI World Cup and defeating Australia in a bilateral T20I series for the first time in a decade. Cricket has now firmly surpassed traditional sports such as kabaddi in popularity among women in most surveyed states. Uttar Pradesh reported the sharpest growth, with participation increasing tenfold from 1 per cent to 10 per cent.
The gender gap in cricket is also narrowing. Whereas five men played for every woman in 2020, the ratio has now improved to three men per female player, reflecting greater accessibility and visibility for women in the sport. Interest in pursuing sports professionally has also grown, particularly in Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Meghalaya, where 19-27 per cent of young women expressed career ambitions in athletics.
The study also noted a rise in badminton participation among women, especially in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. However, safety concerns remain a barrier: 13 per cent of women who do not play sports cited safety as a key deterrent.
Rupa Jha, editor-in-chief and co-founder of Collective Newsroom, emphasized that while the data shows encouraging progress, stereotypes and structural barriers persist. She hopes the findings will spark further initiatives to support female athletes and create safer, more inclusive opportunities for women in sports.
The Harmanpreet–Smriti era is thus more than a golden period on the field; it is reshaping the landscape of Indian sports, inspiring young women to embrace cricket and challenge traditional limitations, signaling a new chapter in gender equality and sporting culture.
