A win for women's cricket

At a time when disillusionment with the establishment is rife and higher pay packets are luring players to rival leagues, take a moment to appreciate those who have stayed in cricket for years on end purely for the love of the game. Anjum Chopra, who was yesterday presented with an Arjuna award, one of India's highest civilian honours, is among that company.

Chopra is only the seventh woman cricketer to win the award since it was first established in 1961, and no male cricketer has been nominated since Harbhajan Singh won in 2003. The honour comes a few days after the Indian board announced an allocation of Rs 60 to 70 million ($1.47-1.71 million) for women's cricket this season - almost twice last year's allotment. The future may look bright for women's cricket in India, but for the likes of Chopra, who played the best part of their careers in the years when there were no financial incentives, it may be a little too late.

The women's game still retains an amateurish feel, with many international players taking leave (without pay) from their regular jobs to play for the country for small daily allowances. Chopra is among the very few players who have consistently performed well and remained on top despite the hardships.

She considers herself fortunate to have witnessed the change of guard from the amateur body that was the Women's Cricket Association of India (WCAI) to the BCCI, with all its monetary and organisational power. "It has been a very nice journey with the WCAI who worked hard to keep the game alive," she said, speaking to Cricinfo a day before she received the award. "But this is just the beginning of the road with the BCCI and we have a long way to go."

Chopra has already come a long way herself. She made her debut in 1995 and is the first Indian woman to play over 100 ODIs. When asked what her most satisfying series as a player has been, she prefers to go with the line that satisfaction comes from the team's success, whatever one's individual contribution may be. "You don't make headlines, the country makes headlines," she says. On being pressed further she nominates India's Test victory in South Africa in 2002, their first away win and second overall in 28 Tests. She fails to mention that she led the side and top scored with a patient 80 as India won by 10 wickets.

Neetu David, her former India team-mate, remembers another memorable Chopra game. "It was her first tour of England. Anjum batted on while the others around her were dismissed for low scores. That was her first one-day hundred. We celebrated wildly after the game." India won the match by 86 runs and the series 2-0.

In 2006 when India won their first Test in England, Chopra once again top scored for her side with 98. Indeed, her successes have more often than not come in Indian victories - 13 of her 15 half-centuries in ODIs have been in matches won - a stat any player would like to boast of.

It hasn't always been rosy, though, especially recently. Chopra took over the captaincy from Anju Jain in January 2002, but held it for only a year before being replaced by the current captain, Mithali Raj, in February 2003. And she hasn't been having too good a time of it with the bat either. In her last 17 ODIs, dating back to July 2006, she has been about 10 points off her overall career average. She was even dropped for two games in the Quadrangular series in Chennai early this year.

Shubhangi Kulkarni, who was the secretary of the WCAI and is now the convenor of the BCCI's women's committee, and herself an Arjuna award winner, believes Chopra truly deserves the recognition she is receiving. "Anjum is one of the most attractive batsmen on the circuit and she is a role model for younger cricketers with the way she carries herself on the field."

Chopra may have unwittingly become a representative for women's cricket also by virtue of her appearances on television as an expert during men's international tournaments, but where she truly represents women cricketers, across generations, is in achieving what she has while playing without incentive and recognition. This award, which recognises her efforts, makes some of the struggle worth it.