PM Modi lauds the Indian women's cricket team in 'Mann Ki Baat'

What’s the story?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his latest episode of Mann Ki Baat, heaped praises on the Indian women's cricket team for their remarkable journey at the ICC Women's World Cup 2017.

Had a wonderful interaction with the Indian cricket team that took part in the women's cricket world cup. @BCCIWomen pic.twitter.com/750452ZzUx

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 27, 2017

"Our women cricketers did us proud at the recently-concluded Women’s World Cup. I got a chance to meet them this week and I felt really nice talking to them. But I sensed that they felt really bad for not winning the World Cup. They looked tense.

"But I told them about my own assessment that this is a media driven world and expectations from players are hyped manifold. And when these expectations aren’t met, they turn in aggression. We have seen many instances where if our team loses, the whole country is enraged. Infact, what hurts the most is when few people cross their limits and go on to say and write very shameful things," Modi said.

"But this is the first instance when the country stood together with our team when they couldn’t lift the title. Not just this, but the entire nation lauded the performance of these athletes as well. I see this as a pleasant change.

"And I also told them that they are lucky to have this kind of support. It doesn’t matter that you couldn’t win the title as you have won the hearts of 125 Cr people," he added.

In this day and age, expectations are raised so much. And then, if our team can't win some people don't even respect basic decencies: PM

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 30, 2017

But, the way India supported the women's cricket team shows a shift. I am happy how India took pride in the team's accomplishment: PM

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 30, 2017

In case you didn’t know...

The Indian Women’s Cricket Team, led by Mithali Raj, lost the finals of the World Cup to England at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Stadium. However, their journey to the finals caught the attention of many.

India also became the only team in Women’s World Cup history to beat powerhouses England, Australia and New Zealand in the same edition.

The heart of the matter

This was Mithali Raj’s fifth and last World Cup final, during which she also became the highest run-scorer in the history of women’s ODI cricket after reaching the 6000 run mark in the group game against Australia.

The reason for the loss in the finals was the inexperience of the middle and lower middle order which faltered under pressure and couldn’t chase down the target. India lost by only 9 runs.

However, despite the shortcomings in the final, every Indian cricket fan took pride in their performance, a fact which the PM stressed upon.

The Prime Minister had felicitated the team upon their return from England a fortnight ago as well.

What’s next?

The schedule for India’s upcoming tournaments isn’t out yet.

Moreover, as per the coach of the team, Tushar Arothe, the team will soon be meeting a sports psychologist to make sure they don’t lose any matches in the future due to pressure.

Author’s Take

While the felicitations and media interviews will continue for the next few days, the real task of a true fan will be to remember the girls and follow their games even when the media doesn’t.