The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) in recognition of the contributions of Mumbai women cricketers who have represented the Indian team, has unveiled an ‘Honours Board’ which lists the names of all the international players from the city, during presentation ceremony of the President Cup women’s T20 cricket tournament, at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday night.
(from left to right) MCA Hon. Treasurer, Armaan Mallick, Diana Edulji, a former Indian Women cricket captain and CoA, Sulakshana Naik, a former Indian Women cricketer, MCA President, Amol Kale and MCA Hon. Secretary, Ajinkya Naik seen after unveiling the MCA Honours Board for Mumbai Women cricketers.
The board was unveiled in the presence of Diana Edulji, a former Indian Women cricket captain and CoA, Sulakshana Naik, a former former Indian Women cricketer, MCA President, Amol Kale, MCA Hon. Secretary, Ajinkya Naik and MCA Hon. Treasurer, Armaan Mallick. Also present were former Mumbai players, coaches, MCA Apex Council Members, young cricketers and well-wishers.
Speaking after unveiling the Honours Board, Kale said, ‘We (MCA) decided to have a Honours Board with the names of all the women players from Mumbai who went on to represent the Indian team. The MCA has a Honours Boards for men cricketers who played for India, but we did not have any in regards to women players. We have unveiled one today.”
“The President Cup which concluded today is the first women’s league in India which is being played under floodlights. It helped the women to showcase their talent and one never knows, few of them might get selected in the Women’s Premier League going ahead. All the matches were seen live on our FaceBook page as well as on YouTube. We tried to give them the ambience of competitive cricket and all the games were played at the Wankhede Stadium. As MCA President, my aim is to provide all possible help to the cricketers and with women’s cricket growing rapidly, it’s a first step towards unearthing talent across Mumbai,” Kale mentioned.
Names of 18 players were printed on the Honours Board starting with Shobha Pandit and Diana Edulji, both representing the country in 1974. The other cricketers who made the list include, Behroze F. Edulji (1975), Anjali Pendharker (1980), Arunadhati Ghosh, Laya Francis, Sangita Katware (all 1983), Arati Vaidya (1994), Deepa Marathe (1997), Sunetra Paranjpe, Sulakshna Naik (both 2002), Monica Sumra (2004), Rajeshwari Goyal (2006), Punam Raut, Seema Pujare (2008), Samantha Lobatto (2010), Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav (2017).