Times Shield a foundation stone of Indian cricket: Diana Edulji

MUMBAI: Diana Edulji has worn many hats through her cricketing journey — a torch bearer as a player, a crusader for parity between women’s and men’s cricket, and an administrator at the BCCI during one of the darkest phases of Indian cricket.

Never deterred on or off the field, Edulji played a key role during her stint with the Committee of Administrators (CoA) in bringing women’s cricket into sharper focus. That period also laid the foundation for the Women’s Premier League (WPL), starting with the one-off Women’s T20 Challenge at the Wankhede Stadium in 2018.

Speaking at the 94th prize distribution ceremony of the Times Cricket Shield on Fri day, the former India captain, who was the chief guest, praised the Times of India Group and expressed hope that a women’s tournament on the lines of the Shield would be launched in the future. This year’s event was supported by John Distilleries Pvt Ltd as beverage partners and Milestone Merchandise Pvt Ltd as celebration partners. Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president Ajinkya Naik said the association would work with the Times Shield to start a women’s corporate league, and also plans a women’s T20 league similar to the T20 Mumbai League.“The WPL is a testament to what vision and opportunity can achieve.

The Times Cricket Shield, with its legacy, can similarly inspire young girls,” said Edulji, now an MCA advisor, calling for men’s and women’s cricket to grow together. Former BCCI chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty credited Edulji for the strides made in women’s cricket during the CoA era, recalling how player concerns raised in 2017 were swiftly addressed. All speakers underlined the deep link between the Times Shield and Mumbai cricket.

“Around 2,500 to 3,000 families are supported because of the Times Shield and the MCA. Started 94 years ago, the tournament continues to be central to Mumbai cricket,” said Naik. Edulji summed it up by calling the Times Shield “a foundation stone of Indian cricket”, while Shetty recalled how the tournament allowed fans to watch India players represent their companies and inspiring the launch of the BCCI Corporate League. List of winners A Division: Winner: Mumbai Customs SCRunner-up: Bank of Baroda, MumbaiFast scoring team: Mumbai Customs SCBest Bowler: Tanush Kotian (Income Tax)Best batsman: Rohan Kadam (Bank of Baroda)B Division:Winner: Indian Navy Sports Control CellRunner-up: DTDC Sports Club, MumbaiFast scoring team: Mumbai Port Trust SC 'A'Best Bowler: Shreyas Gurav (DTDC SC)Best batsman: Shaun Rodrigues (Nanavati Hospital)C Division:Winner: Jain Irrigation BRunner-up: Reliance Group SCFast scoring team: Western Railway SA 'B'Best Bowler: Shubham Sharma (Jain Irrigation B)Best batsman: Prateek Yadav (Jain Irrigation B)D Division:Winner: Merck SCRunner-up: Tata Steel (Wire Div) SCFast scoring team: Kokilaben HospitalBest Bowler: Atharva Dakway (Merck SC)Best batsman: Ihsaan Amin (Kokilaben Hospital) E Division:Winner: WNS GlobalRunner-up: Central Bank RCFast scoring team: Satellite Developers CCBest Bowler: Samek Jagtap (Central Bank RC)Best batsman: Ashutosh Ghagre (WNS)F Division:Winner: Cipla SC BRunner up: Beenet CommunicationFast scoring team: Beenet CommunicationBest Bowler: Shashikant Kadam (TMC)Best batsman: Pratik Gharat (Agribid SC)Qualifier Division:Winner: Krystal GroupRunner-up: IndusInd Bank Ltd