15-year-old Shafali Verma rewrites history for the Indian Cricket Team

On November 9, Sachin Tendulkar’s 30-year-old record was shattered by a 15-year-old who is now the youngest Indian cricketer to score a 50 in international cricket. Not too long ago, she was dressing as a boy to enter the cricket academy in Rohtak. And on Saturday, Shafali Verma as part of the Indian cricket team, hit it all across the park to achieve the feat far away in the West Indies.

When the news broke, we tried stalking her on the only verified Indian cricket account on Facebook: Indian Cricket Team. We found nothing. And by nothing, we also mean no mention of any women representing the country in its national obsession. The women in blue have made it to the World Cup finals twice, and four times to the semis. Former captain Mithali Raj has been awarded the Padma Shri as well as the Arjuna Award. Earlier this month, Smriti Mandhana became only the 2nd fastest Indian after Shikhar Dhawan to reach the milestone of 2,000 ODI runs.

We double-checked the page description. Maybe it was the official page of the men’s cricket team. But the About Us section is short and succinct: The Official Page of Indian Cricket Team. Are we then saying that only the men are recognised as the Indian cricket team?

The recent reports coming from the dugout aren’t helping the board either. Last week, the women’s team was stuck in West Indies stuck without a daily allowance until the new BCCI office-bearers were forced to salvage the fiasco. To sharpen the contrast, men in blue just got their daily allowances doubled in September this year.

We are proud of you, Miss Verma, and although that $250 cash prize seems paltry for your stupendous knock, we believe that things will only get better from here on. We would like to propose a New Year Resolution to the BCCI. Start an official Facebook Page and celebrate all our champions: not just the ones with beards.