“No Need for Women to Play Cricket”: Sourav Ganguly’s Controversial Remark on Harmanpreet and Smriti Sparks Uproar

India’s first ICC Women’s World Cup victory has written a golden chapter in the nation’s cricketing history. At Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium, India triumphed over South Africa by 52 runs — a win filled with pride, emotion, and the realization of countless dreams. For India, Shafali Verma scored 87, Deepti Sharma 58, and Richa Ghosh 34, helping the team post a total of 298 runs.

In reply, South African captain Laura Wolvaardt struck a brilliant century, scoring 101, but it wasn’t enough to change the outcome of the mega final. Deepti Sharma picked up 5 wickets while Shafali Verma took 2. Amid the celebrations and the wave of national pride, an old video of former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly resurfaced on social media, sparking renewed discussion.

Sourav’s remark: “There’s no need for women to play cricket”

The video in question was from an old interview of Sourav Ganguly on the Bengali news channel ABP Ananda. During the interview, while talking about Arjun Tendulkar, Ganguly was asked what he would say if his daughter Sana ever wanted to become a cricketer. Smiling, he replied humorously, “There’s no need for women to play cricket.”

At the time, his remark was made in a light-hearted manner, but following the Indian women’s team’s historic victory, the statement has resurfaced and gone viral again, leading to widespread debate.

When the host had earlier asked him whether he would allow Sana to become a cricketer, Ganguly had laughed and said, “I’ll stop her from doing that. There’s no need for women to play cricket.”

However, later on another show, Dadagiri, Ganguly clarified his position. When singer Antara Mitra asked him, “How do you feel watching women’s cricket on TV these days?” Ganguly responded,
“It feels incredible. Women’s cricket has progressed tremendously. If such opportunities existed when Sana was younger, I would have let her play too. Over the last three years, women’s cricket has developed amazingly. Now their pay is equal to the men’s — Smriti Mandhana earns the same as Virat Kohli does in Tests.”

Harmanpreet and Smriti make history

Sourav’s old remark feels especially significant today because the Indian women’s team’s remarkable triumph has proven that the line separating men and women in sports is fading fast. This victory isn’t just about winning a trophy — it’s a powerful symbol of equality and determination.

Under Harmanpreet Kaur’s captaincy, Team India created history — after Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni, it was now Harmanpreet who lifted the World Cup trophy in the ODI format.