Long before India’s female cricketers became national role models and hoisted a World Cup trophy, the women’s team achieved obscurity with little financial and logistical support. At that time, while women’s cricket in India had no sponsors or association help, Bollywood actor and television presenter Mandira Bedi became the unlikely heroine, albeit an unsung one.
From 2003 until 2005, Mandira Bedi’s influence and earnings allowed her to support the Indian women’s cricket team by helping to fund travel to compete abroad. Nutan Gavaskar, the former secretary of the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI), remembered the team was solely motivated by their passion, and they lacked basic amenities for practice. Under severe financial constraints, the WCAI was charged with running women’s cricket in India from 1973 until the BCCI assumed control of the WCAI in 2006.
On one occasion, Bollywood actress Mandira Bedi acted after shooting a commercial for Asmi Jewelry. Rather than keeping any of her endorsement fee, she donated the entire amount to the WCAI. This money bankrolled the airfares for the team’s trip to England, a sizable project at the time. This charitable effort helped Indian women’s cricket survive its most challenging years.
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