The coronavirus pandemic has wrecked havoc on sporting calendars around the world. Cricket in India is no different. But while the 2019-20 men’s domestic cricket season saw most of it’s big tournaments get completed before the shutdown, the same isn’t true for the women’s season.
A report in The Times of India has stated that 168 matches in seven tournaments across age groups are yet to be completed for the 2019-20 women’s domestic cricket season.
Here’s all that’s pending in the 2019-20 women’s domestic cricket season:
| Tournament | Matches remaining |
|---|---|
| Senior one-day trophy | Seven knockout games |
| Senior one-day challenger trophy | Four games |
| Under-23 one-day trophy | Seven knockout games |
| Under-23 one-day challenger trophy | Four games |
| Under-19 one-day trophy | Seven knockout games |
| Under-19 T20 trophy | 135 games |
| Under-19 T20 challenger trophy | Four games |
The Board of Control for Cricket in India put out a statement last month saying all domestic tournaments will be on hold until further notice. With the prospect of sports returning anytime soon looking bleak, Indian women’s domestic cricket finds itself in an unfortunate position.
“It’s true that if these matches were to go ahead, a few more gems like Shafali Verma would have been unearthed,” the report quoted India’s ODI captain Mithali Raj as saying. “But at the moment, I have only one thing to tell the young cricketers – stay home and stay safe but also at the same time keep yourself occupied with some drills.
“It can be a mental challenge to be locked down at one place. So chalk out a plan for yourself and do a bit of skill-work. It’s uncertain times not just for the junior cricketers but for senior Indian players like us too. We were preparing with the Challengers, the ICC World Cup qualifiers and the England tour in mind.”
