The dynamics of women’s cricket have changed very rapidly in the last couple of years. Be it the pay or the facilities gap, numerous steps have been taken towards closing it with male cricketers. Women cricketers have had to face and overcome many psychosocial challenges throughout the years and their resilience has largely played a role in their impressive progress. Today, the growth and recognition of women’s cricket are strong indicators of what is positive about this game, bracing for a brighter future.
Intrapersonal Problems
Self-concept and female motivation for the cricketers determined their sense of efficacy. Some women were said to lack confidence because they deemed themselves with macho conceptions about athleticism where they become ineffective. Contrarily, macho conceptions about athleticism have promoted males and supported them towards athletic activities.
Interpersonal Relationships
Interpersonal factors also caused support and pressure. As women participated in cricket, reactions from families and friends varied. To the males, support and encouragement arrived with their participation, and to the females, questions as regards their participation and sometimes debasement of their effort arose. What the female participants did was changed by the team setting, and the social influences that they faced differed from those which men had to put up with.
Environmental Challenges
Environmental factors presented another challenge. Women’s cricket generally received poor media coverage and inadequate funding, thus resulted in fewer exposures and development chances. Also, there were sexist issues about the presentation of females in sports, focusing more on feminine characteristics rather than the athletic ones.
Policy-Related Problems
Hence, the psychosocial issues associated with the resources’ distribution and the kind of comprehensive programming posed challenges to the women’s cricket development. This became an important task to address such psychosocial issues to ensure the development of female cricketers and the proportionate provision of opportunity to play, which would enhance their skills and make them feel stronger in the field of sports. Trends were improving, but psychosocial gaps between male and female cricketers called for constant attention and hard work.
The Sportz Planet Desk,
Atharva Shetye