Follow UsMithali Raj and Ravi Kalpana, two women cricketers at two opposite extremes of the popularity parameter in the Indian women's cricket parlance, will have stands named after them by the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam.
The reason behind this is India women’s cricket team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, who, in a chat with Andhra Pradesh IT minister Nara Lokesh, suggested that the state should honour women cricketers from the region to make the sport reach the interiors.
It is based on that suggestion during the show Breaking the Boundaries in August this year that the Andhra government made the recommendation to the cricket association, and it has now implemented it.
The stands would be unveiled on October 12 ahead of India's women's ODI World Cup match against Australia.
"The ACA's tribute to Mithali Raj and Ravi Kalpana reflects a deep commitment to honouring the trailblazers who have redefined women's cricket in India while inspiring the next generation to dream bigger," PTI quoted the ACA as saying in a statement.
“Smriti Mandhana's thoughtful suggestion captured a wider public sentiment. Translating that idea into immediate action reflects our collective commitment to gender parity and to acknowledging the trailblazers of women's cricket,” the board added.
As for the two cricketers, Mithali played international cricket for 23 years, scoring 7805 runs from 232 ODIs at an average of 50.68 with seven centuries. In 89 T20Is, she scored 2364 runs, and in 12 Tests, she scored 699 runs in 19 innings at 43.68.
The other player, Kalpana, from Andhra, played seven ODIs between 2015 and 2016 for the national team and paved the way for the likes of Arundhati Reddy, S Meghana and N Shree Charani to follow suit and make their debuts for India as well.