The likes of Virat Kohli, Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur and Veda Krishnamurthy called on fans to support a unique mixed-gender Twenty20 exhibition match, as part of a campaign launched by Royal Challenge Sports Drink.
Apart from Kohli, Mithali, Harmanpreet and Veda, the teams will be made up of more Royal Challengers Bangalore and international women cricketers. Fans can vote to support the campaign online.
The #ChallengeAccepted campaign is aimed at breaking gender-based stereotypes. The details of the match — date and venue — will be announced later.
“Be it men or women, cricket is one game, and I want to urge fans to break the boundaries that exist in their mind that divides the sport by gender. Equality in sports is ultimately a reflection of equality in life, and if we want a better tomorrow, then we need to say #ChallengeAccepted and start breaking down all stereotypes,” India and RCB captain Kohli stated in a press release.
“Over the recent years, women’s cricket has made a lot of progress in terms of earning respect from fans and experts, but the playing field is still not equal. The true difference is seen when there is parity in opportunities, salaries, coverage and fan support,” Mithali stated.
“People say that women’s and men’s cricket is not equal because we are not able to face the same challenges on-field. To all those fans, I want to say that neither does the idea of facing a ball at 150 kmph daunt me, nor do I worry about the size of the stadium while hitting a boundary,” Harmanpreet said.
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