{"id":23026,"date":"2025-11-04T11:33:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T11:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/04\/once-she-took-up-our-cause-the-actress-who-supported-indian-womens-team-during-early-struggles-cricket-news\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T11:33:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T11:33:11","slug":"once-she-took-up-our-cause-the-actress-who-supported-indian-womens-team-during-early-struggles-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/04\/once-she-took-up-our-cause-the-actress-who-supported-indian-womens-team-during-early-struggles-cricket-news\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Once She Took Up Our Cause…’: The Actress Who Supported Indian Women’s Team During Early Struggles | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Last Updated:<\/span>

Bedi supported the struggling Indian team financially, back in 2003 when they couldn’t afford to lure sponsors, by pledging her fee from a diamond endorsement.<\/h2>\n
\n
\"Mandira<\/p>\n

Mandira Bedi, Indian Women’s Cricket Team.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The Indian women\u2019s cricket team clinched their maiden World Cup with their win over South Africa on Sunday at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai taking the burgeoning culture of women\u2019s cricket in the nation forward by leaps and bound.<\/p>\n

However, it has not always been the case with the side struggling to find sponsors and endorsements back in the day as notable names including Bollywood actress Mandira Bedi springing in to action to support the sport financially.<\/p>\n

Former secretary of the Women\u2019s Cricket Association of India, Nutan Gavaskar, opened up on the initial state of affairs around the sport initially and outlined the challenges the outfit had to face.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe WCAI was formed in 1973 and managed the national team until 2006, when the BCCI finally took women\u2019s cricket under its wing. Back then, there was no money \u2014 but all those women played for the sheer love of the game,” she said.<\/p>\n

She also recalled the time when Bedi starred in commercials with the intent of forwarding the proceeds in its entirety to support the Indian women\u2019s cricket team.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn another occasion, we had Mandira Bedi, who shot a commercial for a famous diamond brand. The entire endorsement fee she received, she donated to the WCAI. That money helped us arrange air tickets for India\u2019s tour of England,” she said.<\/p>\n

Former India player Shubhangi Kulkarni echoed Nutan\u2019s thoughts by dwelling further into Bedi\u2019s work towards the progress of the sport in the nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very difficult to get sponsors in the last few years. But once Mandira took up our cause, other corporates began to show interest,” Shubhangi said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe came to watch a match, and we told her, \u2018You have done so much for men\u2019s cricket \u2014 why not do something for us?\u2019 She took it up earnestly and soon began approaching sponsors,” she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe money I would have taken for my endorsement will go towards the cricket sponsorship. There is another sponsor lined up for the next series,” she had said.<\/p>\n

Following the triumph of the women\u2019s side on the grandest stage, Bedi posted a handwritten note on social media platform Instagram with a caption that read, \u201cI once stood on the sidelines of women\u2019s cricket, humbled by its grit and grace. Last night, you showed the world its power. This victory was not a moment: it was a shift in the heartbeat of every little girl who will now dream without apology.”<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a journey. What a fight. Sweet victory, so well deserved ! Big congratulations to Team India! Women\u2019s cricket has come SUCH a long way,” Bedi\u2019s post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter read.<\/p>\n

First Published:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n

November 04, 2025, 17:00 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

News<\/a> cricket<\/a> ‘Once She Took Up Our Cause…’: The Actress Who Supported Indian Women’s Team During Early Struggles<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\n
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last Updated:November 04, 2025, 17:00 IST Bedi supported the struggling Indian team financially, back in 2003 when they couldn’t afford to lure sponsors, by pledging her fee from a diamond endorsement. Mandira Bedi, Indian Women’s Cricket Team. The Indian women\u2019s cricket team clinched their maiden World Cup with their win over South Africa on Sunday…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cricket"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}