![\"234Mithali\"](\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/234Mithali.jpg\")
Indian captain Mithali Raj opened the second annual ICC Women\u2019s Cricket Forum, reflecting on how far the game had come in the last 12 months and urging the sport to continue to build on the momentum. <\/p>\nIndian captain Mithali Raj opened the second annual ICC Women\u2019s Cricket Forum, reflecting on how far the game had come in the last 12 months and urging the sport to continue to build on the momentum. <\/p>\n
Speaking in Kolkata on the opening day of a week of ICC meetings, Raj painted a picture of the significant changes the women\u2019s game had undergone in the last decade – from her not even knowing there was an Indian women\u2019s team when she first started playing, to not being able to walk down the street unrecognised. <\/p>\n
In front of an audience comprising ICC Member CEOs, Head of Women\u2019s Cricket and other leaders in the game, Raj said she hoped this was a turning point: \u201cThis is the beginning of good times for women\u2019s cricket, what happened in the World Cup and the way people now see women\u2019s cricket as a viable sport. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no longer any ignorance about the women\u2019s game, cricket talk is not limited to the men\u2019s game or amongst men\u2019s fans. The reach is now there, so the common man can see women\u2019s cricket and we are breaking viewership records and it is important we continue that interest.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are now starting to see stand-alone women\u2019s event and we have the ICC World T20 later this year and this is good. Double-headers were important at first but no matter how good the women\u2019s cricket, it was always overshadowed by the men. At a stand-alone tournament you \u2018own the stage\u2019 and it\u2019s another opportunity to promote the game on a larger platform.\u201d <\/p>\n
Holly Colvin, ICC Women\u2019s Cricket Manager added: \u201cAt the inaugural ICC Women\u2019s Forum last year, the seed to broadcast every match of the Women\u2019s World Cup was sown. The group here can influence and change the women\u2019s cricket landscape for the better. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe 2017 ICC Women\u2019s World Cup was a resounding success but we cannot rest on our laurels. This year\u2019s forum is about how we maintain the momentum and continue to grow the women\u2019s game.\u201d <\/p>\n
Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director of Ogilvy South Asia introduced the concept of building the brand of women\u2019s cricket to the forum saying: \u201cNow is the time to celebrate these women, we have to popularise the game and the players. One way of doing this is to give women\u2019s cricket a sense of purpose that touches the hearts of people and gives the game a brand identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen\u2019s empowerment is a global issue and if we can celebrate women\u2019s empowerment through cricket we can make an impact. Every government wants to promote this, but can cricket lead it? We need to tell strong stories that become the surround sound to the cricket and turn these players into stars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Day two of the forum continued today (April 23)<\/span><\/span> with a focus on sharing best practice and growing the number of women and girls in cricket. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Indian captain Mithali Raj opened the second annual ICC Women\u2019s Cricket Forum, reflecting on how far the game had come in the last 12 months and urging the sport to continue to build on the momentum. Speaking in Kolkata on the opening day of a week of ICC meetings, Raj painted a picture of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world-cricket-news"],"yoast_head":"\n