Sudha Shah bats for three-match Test series, advocates for WTC-like tournament for women

The former India cricketer said that one-off Tests should be done away with and urged the ICC to introduce a Test championship to facilitate the participation of all member nations.

Former Indian women cricketer Sudha Shah. | Photo Credit: VEDHAN M/The Hindu

Former India cricketer Sudha Shah advocated for more women’s Test cricket, suggesting that a minimum of three Test matches should comprise a series and a Test championship like the men’s World Test Championship (WTC) may even be introduced to get all the member nations to play the format internationally.

“Firstly, they should stop the One-off Tests. They (international teams) should be playing at least three Tests, minimum, a three-Test series. And I think the other boards should be educated about it,” Sudha told Sportstar here on Wednesday.

“Perhaps ICC should say that countries have to play (Tests) or introduce a Test championship,” she said ahead of the one-off Test between India and South Africa that begins here on Friday.

Interestingly, Sudha batted for the now-scrapped Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy, played in April, over the multi-day Challenger tournament. The latter was the original red-ball tournament for the women’s ecosystem until it was done away with in 2018, only to be revived in the upcoming domestic season.

“I think they should be playing Inter-Zonal and not the Challengers. I feel Challengers finally turns out to be like selection matches.

“I think there are a lot of girls in each zone who have the potential to be playing for the zone, and you have five zones. Here, you have three teams for challengers, maybe, four,” she added, highlighting wider opportunities in the zonal format.

Sudha was part of the Indian team which featured in the lone Women’s international red-ball fixture at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai in 1976. This was the second of a six-match Test series against the West Indies and India’s first-ever showing in the format.

In Sudha’s time as an active player, semifinals and finals of the Nationals — then the country’s premiere event for women’s cricket — were two-day and three-day affairs respectively.

“Compared to the other teams, we were a bunch of very young players taking part in Tests. Australia and England had been playing much earlier than us.

“We officially started playing women’s cricket in India in 1973-74. But a lot of countries had been playing cricket for quite some time. So, we were like infants at that stage,” she added.

“It was a thrill playing in Chepauk,” Sudha said about that Chennai Test 47 years ago. “It rained and I got the best fielder award for that Test.

“I took a catch at leg slip off Shantha Rangaswamy (captain). The batter was the (WI) vice-captain, Pat (Patricia) Whittaker.

“I also remember the way I got out. It was a snick and the slip fielder was very tall. It hit her head and ricocheted and the gully fielder took the catch. It was sad that we couldn’t fully play because of the rain.”

With rain on the cards for the upcoming weekend too, Sudha hopes the rains stay away this time as she awaits a Women’s Test experience at the Chepauk, albeit from the stands this time.