Women kicked out of Wankhede

In a crass and rather thoughtless move the Mumbai Cricket Association and the Board of Control for Cricket in India have withdrawn the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai as a venue for any games in the Women's World Cup just 10 days before the tournament starts.

Nine games, including two warm-up games, were due to be played at the stadium, but as soon as Mumbai men's team beat Services in Delhi to set up a home Ranji Trophy final starting on 26 January, moves were made to ensure the home team could play at their beloved Wankhede Stadium. It mattered not that the stadium was due to be used for the most prestigious tournament in the women's cricket calendar.

The revised schedule for the WWC is likely to be published by the ICC on Wednesday this week. It had already had to shift the Pakistan games out of Mumbai to Cuttack due to the objections of political activists to Pakistan players playing in the city. It seems likely that they will try and spread the Wankhede games across the other stadia in Mumbai that are already being used for the WWC.

This badly-timed move by the MCA and the BCCI reflects poorly on them and their view of the women's game in India and indeed throughout the world. One would hope that the ICC have taken note of their attitude to the women's game.

For more information see http://www.wisdenindia.com/cricket-news/womens-world-cup-games-shifted-wankhede/46341

MD
21/I/13