Bilquis Mir from Jammu and Kashmir is set to become the first woman from India to represent the country as a jury member in the Paris Olympics 2024, to be held from July 26 to August 11. 

Also Read: Bindyarani Devi secures historic bronze medal in the women’s 55kg event of the IWF World Cup

Bilquis' appointment as a jury member for the Paris Olympics 2024 was officially informed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) through a letter to the Jammu and Kashmir administration. "Bilquis Mir, water sports promoter, developer, athlete, jury member of Indian Kayaking and Canoeing association has been nominated as the member of the jury to officiate at the Paris Olympics games. She is the first person from India to be appointed as a jury member at the Paris Olympics," IOA stated.

Olympics is the 'ultimate destination'

Delighted with her appointment as a jury member for the Paris Olympics 2024, considered the pinnacle of sports, Bilquis consider it as a dream come true for her as the Olympics is the 'ultimate destination' not just for athletes but for sports promoters like herself.

Bilquis was also a jury member at the Asian Games in Hangzhou

Bilquis started her journey as a canoeist from Dal Lake in 1998 and represented the country. She is a former coach of the women's canoeing team that will represent India at the Paris Olympics 2024. In addition, Bilquis was also a jury member at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China last year.  

It was very difficult for a Kashmiri girl to take up sports back in the day

Recalling the days prior to the revocation of the constitutional privileges in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370, she said it was very difficult for a Kashmiri girl to take up sports back in the day but Bilquis took up canoeing in earnest, negotiating and overcoming the many challenges that came along the way. 

Bilquis found her true calling as a canoeist, which was a sport virtually unheard of in Jammu and Kashmir at the time, and went on to represent the country at the world championships. 

Also Read: Mirabai Chanu qualifies for the Paris Olympics 2024 after finishing third in the women’s 49kg Group B event

Bilquis cleared the exam for being a jury member

Bilquis cleared the exam for being a jury member at top sporting events in 2008 and earned praise for her conduct and performance in the panel at last year's Hangzhou Asian Games.

Women’s cricket is constantly growing, and matches are continuously being played on a bigger stage with larger crowds. 

There are female cricketers who paved the way for others and continuously tried to grow the game even when only the smallest spotlight was on the sport, and such players need commending for their efforts. 

So, let's dig into the incredible careers and achievements of some of the best female cricketers who are making history.

Top Female Cricketers

10. Chamari Athapaththu | Sri Lanka 

Chamari Athapaththu is the greatest cricketer from Sri Lanka to have played women’s cricket. 

Debuting as a 19-year-old, she was soon noted for her aggressive batting. 

She became captain of the Sri Lanka national team and has helped a not-so-strong team challenge much more formidable opponents on the global stage.

In 2024 she led Sri Lanka to an underdog win in the Asia Cup women’s T20I series and finished as Player of the Tournament. 

Chamari has also led Sri Lanka to its first-ever series wins over South Africa and England in T20Is and over New Zealand in ODIs. 

She holds the record for most runs for Sri Lanka in women’s ODIs and T20Is, and her nine women’s ODI hundreds are a Sri Lankan record as well. 

In April 2024, her unbeaten 195 helped Sri Lanka complete the first-ever successful chase of more than 300 runs in a women’s ODI.

In 2023, a seating zone at the Sydney Cricket Ground was named “Chamari Bay” in her honor.

9. Laura Wolvaardt | South Africa 

Laura Wolvaardt made her debut for South Africa as an opening batter at age 16, and by age 25 she became her country’s record holder for most ODI runs, most ODI hundreds, and most T20I runs in women’s cricket. 

Along the way, she became the youngest centurion, male or female, for South Africa in international cricket. 

In 2024 Wolvaardt became only the third woman to score a hundred in all three formats of international cricket, achieving the feat in a Test vs. India. 

After that, she was also named captain of the South Africa T20I team for the World Cup and captained her side to the final where it lost to New Zealand.

8. Heather Knight | England 

Heather Knight took over as captain of the England women’s team in 2016 when Charlotte Edwards retired and led it to victory in the 2017 women’s ODI World Cup at home. 

She was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year that year and was also awarded an OBE. 

As of 2024 Knight has more than 5,000 runs in international cricket.

7. Amelia Kerr | New Zealand 

Amelia Kerr is a third-generation New Zealand cricketer who emerged on the international scene with a bang. 

At age 16, she was the youngest to earn a New Zealand Cricket contract and to debut for the national team in 2017. 

The next year, at 17, she became the youngest cricketer, man or woman, to score an international double century. During that innings, she beat the women’s ODI record held by Belinda Clark on her way to an unbeaten 232.

Not content with scoring a double, she also took 5 wickets while bowling in one of the all-time great all-round displays. 

Kerr has since been a consistent performer for New Zealand and in 2024 was named both the Player of the Final and the Player of the Tournament as New Zealand won the women’s T20I World Cup.

6. Hayley Matthews | West Indies 

Hayley Matthews is a cricketer from Barbados who plays for the West Indies women’s cricket team and became the team’s captain in 2022. 

Matthews is an all-rounder who has more than 4,000 runs in women’s ODIs and T20Is, as well as more than 100 wickets in each format. 

A natural athlete, she played both track and field and cricket in her youth, before focusing on cricket and making her debut for the West Indies. 

Her crowning glory was a Player of the Match performance in the women’s T20I World Cup final in 2016, as the West Indies beat favorites Australia to win its first title.

Matthews is a highly sought after player in franchise leagues across the world and was Player of the Tournament in the first edition of the WPL in 2023, when she helped her team, Mumbai Indians, win the title.

5. Nat Sciver-Brunt | England 

Nat Sciver-Brunt plays international cricket for England. She has scored more than 6,000 international runs with 10 centuries and taken more than 150 wickets as of 2024. 

She is credited with inventing the “Natmeg” shot, in which she hits the ball between her legs for runs. 

In 2013 she became the first England bowler to take a women’s T20I hat trick.

Nat Sciver was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2018 and won the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year award in both 2022 and 2023. 

She is married to fellow England cricketer Katherine Sciver-Brunt.

4. Ellyse Perry | Australia 

Ellyse Perry is one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of cricket based on sheer numbers: a Test batting average of over 60, a Test bowling average below 22, and women’s ODI batting and bowling averages of 50 and 25, respectively. 

In 2007, at age 16, Perry became the youngest Australian to play international cricket. 

She is also the first Australian to have appeared in cricket as well as football (soccer) World Cups, playing the latter in 2011 in Germany. 

She has won the ICC Women’s Player of the Year award twice, in 2017 and 2019. 

In 2020 she was named the ICC Female Player of the Decade. Perry is one of the most famous female cricketers in the world.

3. Harmanpreet Kaur | India

Harmanpreet Kaur debuted for India in 2009 but is best remembered for an unbeaten innings of 171, which helped underdogs India beat Australia to reach the final of the 2017 women’s ODI World Cup.

The knock made her a household name in India and helped take the popularity of the women’s game to the next level. 

She has also scored India’s fastest T20I hundred off only 49 balls. Harmanpreet has more than 7,000 international runs and more than 70 wickets. 

In 2016 she became the first Indian cricketer to sign a contract with the Australian Big Bash League, playing for Sydney Thunder. In 2017 she was awarded the Arjuna Award. 

Picked as captain by the Mumbai Indians in the WPL, she led them to victory in the inaugural season of the WPL in 2023. She was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year the same year.

Harmanpreet has also captained the Indian women’s national team across formats since 2016.

2. Alyssa Healy | Australia 

Alyssa Healy is a wicketkeeper batsman who captains the Australian women’s national team.

She had a middling batting record until 2017 but has since remodeled herself into a formidable opening batter. 

In 2018 she was Player of the Tournament in Australia’s women’s T20I World Cup win; she was named Women’s T20I Player of the Year that year. 

Healy was also Player of the Match when Australia successfully defended its T20I title in the 2020 final. 

She continued her big-match streak with a Player of the Match performance in the 2022 women’s ODI World Cup final, scoring a mammoth 170 runs and earning the Player of the Series award. 

In 2020 Healy surpassed MS Dhoni’s record for the most wicketkeeping dismissals in T20Is by any keeper, male or female. 

1. Smriti Mandhana | India

Currently regarded as one of the best batters in women’s cricket, Smriti Mandhana holds several coveted records to her name.

She has scored more than 7,000 international runs with more than 10 hundreds across formats. 

Her nine ODI hundreds are an Indian women’s record. 

She captained her state team Maharashtra in 2013 at just age 16 and debuted for India the same year. 

Mandhana was the costliest buy in the inaugural WPL auction and was picked by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as captain for 3.4 crore rupees. 

She led RCB to victory in the second edition of the WPL in 2024. 

Mandhana won the ICC Women’s ODI Player of the Year award in 2018. She has also won the Rachael Hayhoe Flint Award for Best Women’s Cricketer of the Year twice, in 2018 and 2021.

The player auction for the WPL 2025 is scheduled to take place on December 15, 2024, in Bengaluru. In this auction, bidding is about to take place on 120 players.

Also Read: BCCI announce the player List for WPL 2025 Auction: Only two players from Bengal

Shortlist of players

The WPL 2025 auction list includes 91 Indian players and 29 international players, including three emerging talents from associate nations. Of the players available, 30 players are capped (9 Indians, 21 foreigners), while the remaining 90 are uncapped (82 Indians, 8 foreigners).

Most of the franchises have retained their core players this season, leaving only 19 slots (5 for overseas players) vacant in this year's auction.

List of marquee players

Marquee players available for auction include Tejal Hasabnis, Sneh Rana, Deandra Dottin (West Indies), Heather Knight (England), Orla Prendergast (Ireland), Lauren Bell (England), Kim Garth (Australia) and Danielle Gibson (England) among many others. 

Available Purses:

• Delhi Capitals - Purse left: INR 2.5 crores, Slots left: 4 (1 Overseas)
• Gujarat Giants - Purse left: INR 4.4 crores, Slots left: 4 (2 Overseas)
• Mumbai Indians - Purse left: INR 2.65 crores, Slots left: 4 (1 Overseas)
• Royal Challengers Bengaluru - Purse left: INR 3.25 crores, Slots left: 4 (0 Overseas)
• UP Warriorz - Purse left: INR 3.9 crore, Slots left: 3 (1 Overseas)

WPL 2025 Auction: Live Streaming Details

When will the WPL 2025 auction take place?

The auction is scheduled to take place on December 15.

Where is the Women's Premier League auction going to take place?

The auction is going to be held in Bengaluru.

What time will the auction start?

The auction will start at 2:30 pm.

Where will the auction be live on TV?

The auction will air live on the Sports 18 channel (SD and HD).

Where will the live streaming of the Women's Premier League 2025 auction take place?

The live streaming will be absolutely free on the Jio Cinema app and their website.

The teams of South Africa and West Indies will face each other in the third match of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 on October 4, Friday. Both the teams would like to make a strong start in the tournament by performing well in this match.

Also Read: ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024: Squads of every team

This match is important for both the teams as it can give them a chance to go to the knockout stage of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. With the result of this match, the form of both the teams and the ability of their players will be evaluated. South Africa will take the field with its balanced team, while West Indies will depend on the excellent form of its captain Hayley Matthews.

South Africa won the series 2-1 against Pakistan

South Africa women's team has recently performed brilliantly against Pakistan by winning the series 2-1. Their eyes are set on winning the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 title. Team captain Laura Wolvaardt is currently the fifth ranked T20 batsman in the world and has led the team to victory in many matches with her aggressive game.

Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tryon are the other key players of the team who are expected to strengthen the team with their experience. In bowling, Tumi Sekhukhune and Sinalo Jafta can play major roles.

West Indies won the T20 series against Sri Lanka 

The West Indies team has recently shown its capability by winning the T20 series against Sri Lanka. Team captain Hayley Matthews is in excellent form and has scored 313 runs so far in the year 2024 and has also taken 8 wickets.

The team is full of all-rounders, but their batsmen will have to show composure against the strong bowling of South Africa. The return of Deandra Dottin has strengthened the team and she will play an important role in both batting and bowling.

Also Read: ICC announces equal prize money for women as men ahead of Women's T20 World Cup 2024; winners to receive US$2.34million

SAW vs WIW: Head-To-Head

SAW vs WIW: Squads

Six-time world champion MC Mary Kom expressed disappointment over the poor performance of Indian boxers in the Paris Olympics 2024. She said that being a medal winner, it is natural that she feels bad.

Also Read: Cricket versus "Sports": A friend or a foe?

India had sent a team of six boxers to the Paris 2024, which included two men and four women. It also included Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain and world champion Nikhat Zareen.

Mary Kom expressed her desire to re-enter professional boxing

Mary Kom expressed her desire to re-enter professional boxing, stating, "I am planning to make a comeback.I will try to make a comeback in pro-boxing." In the same event, she shared her happiness in participating in sports-promoting events but remained concerned about India's performance at the Olympics. 

'We will assess what needs to be done'

Mary Kom told IANS during the Army Sports Conclave, "Looking at the Olympics performance, its unfortunate that we didn’t win a medal in the 2024 Olympics. We will assess what needs to be done moving forward and what shouldn’t be done,"

India's boxing campaign was disappointing 

Lovlina (women's 75kg) missed out on a historic second medal at the Paris Olympics and lost to China's Li Qian in the quarterfinals. At the same time, in the men's 71 kg category, Nishant Dev had reached the quarter-finals, but he had to face defeat from Marco Verde of Mexico.

Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen (women's 50kg), Commonwealth Games champion Amit Panghal (men's 51kg) and Preeti Pawar (women's 54kg) lost in the round of 16 in their respective categories. Jasmine Lamboria (women's 57 kg) was eliminated in the round of 32. Overall, India's Paris Olympics boxing campaign was disappointing.

Also Read: Neeraj Chopra’s best throws: Here are all the top throws by javelin ace Neeraj Chopra

"As a world champion and medallist myself, its natural to feel disappointed. We'll focus on more practice and hard work for the upcoming tournaments," Mary Kom added.

Only three boxers achieved olympic medal

Notably, so far only three Indian boxers have won medals in the Olympics – Vijender Singh (bronze in Beijing 2008), Mary Kom (bronze in London 2012) and Lovlina Borgohain (bronze in Tokyo 2020).

A lot of instances have seen cricket being differentiated from other sports. Especially, in South Asian countries, where cricket rules a fraternity, "sports" look doomed. An established "Cricket versus Sports" league is not a 2-month long tournament. It's an age-long duel with apparent results. But, is cricket guilty?

If we look back, Cricket was not as big as it is now. Restricted within the allies of a colonized country, cricket was just a time pass. 36 years to Independence, but a famous singer (Lata Mangeshkar) had to arrange a charity musical show to gather prize money for the 1983 World Cup Winners.

India gained some confidence since then. the biggest boost came after the win in the inaugurating T20 World Cup Win. 2007, 24the September, exactly 20 years back, the seed of the cash-rich league got sown. 

Indian Premier League, started in 2008, is the biggest source of money earning for BCCI. Keeping aside BCCI, the neighbouring cricketing nations have their cricket board more powerful than the other boards. But is this a fault of Cricket?

"Athletes" ignites the fire of "Cricket versus Sport" League

India won its second T20I World Cup after ending its 11 years of drought. The fans who were frustrated for a decade finally got one thing to celebrate. The Marine Drive got flooded with people. The Wankahde Stadium showed all its suppresed love to the team.

Felicitations came from their respective state governments. BCCI provided a huge lump of prize money to the players and the support staff.

But this has triggered athletes from different sports. Names like Chirag Shetty and Saina Nehwal came into the limelight criticizing the sport. When Shetty wanted equal recognition for India's win in the last Uber Cup, Saina went a step ahead. Her view was simple- people wouldn't even hate cricket even if she did so. But, why would someone hate cricket?

This is not a once or twice-told story. This widespread competition with cricket is not new. But is cricket a foe to other sports? Here are a few stories of "influence" and "idolization" in the recent past, not only from India but from neighbors too.

Sri Lanka Cricket funded CWG participating athletes.

The pre-2022 Commonwealth Games has seen an economic crisis in Sri Lanka. Not just economic, but the life on the island was distressed. The then Prime Minister Rajadhakshya fled from the country. Sri Lanka since its independence faced their record crisis.

The country fell short of food and fuel. The pandemic had already hit the Sports authorities. The crisis increased the hardships. They ran out of money. The situation was so pathetic that the boards couldn't manage transport to send the accessories to the athletes

At a point, the country thought of withdrawing its name from the Birmingham CWG. But at that very moment, Sri Lanka Cricket stepped in.

The board contributed 22 million Sri Lankan Rupees to the athletes participating. They hosted Australia and gathered the amount, despite the fears of the crowd ruining it.

Cricket Sri Lanka tried to cover all the funds. However, the athletes still had limited athleisure. CWG authorities too came in help for the athletes. Sri Lanka finished the CWG Campaign with four medals (one silver and three bronze).

Pakistan Cricket Board- the unsung sponsor for Arshad Nadeem

The Paris Olympics Gold medallist Arshad Nadeem was initially an age-group cricket player, His focus later shifted to javelin through which Pakistan got its first medal after 1992.

Arshad Nadeem registered a monstrous throw of 92.97 metres sealing the gold for his country. Earlier he won the silver at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Budapest, with a throw of 87.82 meters. He gave Pakistan’s first-ever medal at the World Athletics Championships.

But what did Pakistan give him? ignorance! The Commonwealth champion earlier expressed that he has been using a javelin for the last 8 years. His bosom friend and admirer Neeraj Chopra from India tweeted, urging the Pakistan Government to buy Nadeem news javelins.

Nadeem hails from Punjab's Miyan Channu village. Struggling themselves, the villagers funded him for his Olympic campaign. Added, that it was the Pakistan Cricket Bard who sponsored him.

PCB also financed Nadeem and his coach Salman Fayyaz Butt's air tickets.

Read also: A Bronze costs just USD 100: Trembling Future of Pakistan Hockey Team

BCCI's baby steps for Olympians

Earlier BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced financial aid for the Olympians.BCCI granted Rs. 8.5 Crores (approximately $1.03 million) to the Indian Olympic Association for their Olympics campaign.

Recently a new NCA (National Cricket Academy) is near completion. The old existing facilities at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in the city center will be upgraded to a multi-sport training facility.

Apart from the cricketers, it will open doors for the Olympians too. NCA will have new facilities that will let them train there.

The new facilities will have World-Class Playing Grounds will have:

• 45 Practice Pitches: A variety of pitches to cater to different training needs.
• Indoor Cricket Facilities: For year-round practice and skill development.
• Olympic-Sized Swimming Pool: To aid in recovery and cross-training for athletes.
• State-of-the-Art Training and Recovery Facilities: Equipped with the latest sports science technology to help athletes maintain peak physical condition and recover efficiently from injuries.

Cricketer- "athlete" collaboration

When one section came forward criticizing the fame, the other one took it handy to make their own.

Mahi's influence

Speaking about Swapnil Kusale, he himself mentioned that he doesn't follow any other sport apart from shooting. But he follows Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Kusale, who is an Indian Railways employee is a ticket checker like Dhoni. It took him 12 years to feature in the Olympics. And take India's first ever 10m Rifle position 3 medal. The Asian Games Champion accepted that MS's calm personality helps him to stay calm in chaos.

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The Kohli aggression

One of the biggest heartbreak for any badminton fan was Lakshya Sen's exit from the Olympics without a medal. The Chinese Lee Zii Jia shattered Sen's bronze medal dream. 

But Sen's popularity is still unmatched in the sports arena. Even though he is "big," he still wants to "be the Virat Kohli of Indian badminton in coming years." In "The Ranveer Show" podcast he expressed his admiration for Kohli.

The other name that comes in the list is Nitesh Kumar. The Olympic Champion in the Men's Singles SL3 category is a Kohli fan. His winning celebration had some glimpses of Kohli's aggression.

But Nitesh's love for Kohli is not limited to celebrations. After succumbing to a deadly injury in Vizag, he started upgrading his badminton skills. Not only that, he delved himself into fitness, inspired by the 2013 version of Kohli.

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The Wall looks upon The Wall

Soon after retirement, Indian Men's Hockey team goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh was assigned to train the junior hockey team. The two-time Olympic Bronze medallist was delighted to get this role. he not only talked about the future prospects but did mentioned about Rahul Dravid.

"The Wall" of Indian Hockey looked upon "The Wall" of Indian Cricket when it came to coaching. The way Dravid devoted himself to training the cricketing juniors, Seejesh is looking forward to doing the same for his sports.

Read also: Hockey India decides to retire jersey No. 16 in honor of goalkeeper PR Sreejesh

Cricket is another sport

The 2028 Olympics will feature Cricket after 128 years. The brand value of Virat Kohli played a pivotal role in the addition of cricket. But as Sunil Chhetri, the Indian former captain of Indian Football once said, Cricket excelling is great for that country. Then, how does that justify other sports not getting the "love" cricket gets?

How does that justify Chirag Shetty repeatedly slipping down on the court, in the Olympics quarterfinal, having his partner Sattwikraj Rankireddy as the lone warrior? 

How does that justify the associations not getting enough funds and definitely investing to find talent?

How does that justify archers failing to read the wind in bigger stages?

It's an open-ended question. Is it cricket the enemy, or the system? Is cricket actually an enemy or a friend in need?