Since India won its maiden ICC Women’s World Cup to create history on Sunday, it may not be out of context to remember some of the pioneers of women’s cricket like former India captain Purnima Rau for her invaluable contribution when the sport offered nothing except pure joy.

Not many would be aware that it was Purnima who led India to its first-ever overseas ODI series win when the Women in Blue clinched the 1995 Tri-Series featuring host New Zealand and Australia. Interestingly, India recorded its first-ever overseas T20I series win against Australia, led by Mithali Raj, in 2016 when Purnima was the head coach.

So when Purnima watched the entire World Cup final, her joy was understandable. “I was just waiting to see this moment for a long time – India winning the World Cup. I will not ask for anything more,” she said. “I felt on top of the world.”

“Full credit to the entire Indian team, the BCCI and the complete support system for scripting what is truly a memorable win,” she said in a chat on Monday.

‘Money was secondary’

The Hyderabadi, known for her no-nonsense approach both on and off the field, played the game the hardest way anyone in contemporary times would ever imagine.

She would be part of teams which travelled in trains, mostly in unreserved compartments, often mobbing the Ticket Collector to show them at least a seat, if not a berth, to have some sort of comfort travel. Her regular diet would consist of glasses of watermelon juice near stadiums, gulab jamun on the platforms of Jhansi station, Sambhar often served in the same bucket used in toilets, and drinking water from platforms. Despite all of this, the players of yore seemed to be immune to any kind of infection.

“And, there were scoldings from parents, lecturers, family members, friends for carrying all those kit bags, playing on torn mats and traveling distances daily to train and play with boys, with no proper infrastructure in place to take care of us,” said the former three-time World Cupper.

“The match fee in those days was Rs. 1000 for ODIs and Rs. 2000 for a Test match. But, money was secondary. It was sheer passion and love for the game that kept us going. We are grateful to many officials like the late TN Pillay, organising secretary of the then Andhra Pradesh Women’s Cricket Association, Shilu ma’am from Chennai, Nawab of Uttar Pradesh, and WCAI secretary Anuradha Dutt for often spending from their own pockets to take care of our matches,” she explained.

Purnima recalled the greatest challenge which troubled them back then: training daily while not knowing when their next series would be. “There was often a gap of more than two years between series,” she said.

She remembered India’s Test match against England in 1986, where Sandhya Agarwal then set a World Record score of 190, after which the side didn’t play a series till 1991. “One can easily understand the number of talented girls who lost their way because of such long breaks. Yes, only those who had the will to keep going survived that testing phase.”

“We often played on uncovered pitches, bad equipment, torn balls but, we enjoyed those days. Women’s cricket is what it is also because of the kind of sacrifices we made during our peak,” the 58-year-old Purnima recalled, adding how their late coach Sampath Kumar — who also mentored Mithali Raj — would apply mud to their wounds for quick healing.

Purnima, who played five Tests and 33 ODIs between 1993 and 2000, also credited the BCCI for running the game professionally, investing on infrastructure, and developing the Women’s Premier League.

“I just hope that this golden moment in Indian women’s cricket will just be the beginning of many more memorable moments,” she signed off.

Published on Nov 03, 2025