Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won the Women’s Premier League (WPL) Season 2, covering themselves in glory. They defeated Delhi Capitals by eight wickets in the final at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Apart from all the celebrations and attention, it was heartening to see that ahead of the presentation ceremony, RCB captain Smriti Mandhana received a special video call from star batter and former skipper of the men’s team Virat Kohli. This surely upped the league ante and is set to catapult it to more visibility and success in the seasons to come.

We must go beyond scores though to push the message that girls and women must be allowed to go and play, find their game, seek success in sport and follow their sporting ambitions and dreams. Let leagues such as these carry underlying messages about parity of sporting opportunity and freedom for our girls/women.