Women’s cricket has been associated with Indian Railways since 1985. They have been having a great partnership since then and they have successfully made many Railways Women’s Cricket Team over the years.
Indian Railways has always given stability in all forms to Women’s cricketers in their careers. It has made their career grow effectively and has provided them with a stable income too. The Central Government runs Indian Railways and it has been the greatest source of income and jobs for Women’s cricket team.
Moreover, most of the Indian Women in cricket (Approx 90%) prefer to work
with Indian Railways due to the stability, exposure and scope of their career growth. It allows women to play cricket and have a job regardless of their injury or performance.
In this blog we have discussed more about Railways Women’s Cricket Team in detail, check it out!
History of Railways Women’s Cricket Team:
The Railways Women’s Cricket Team started officially in 1985. However, the process began a year earlier. The former captain of India Diana Edulji in 1984 began requesting Madhavrao Scindia for the permanent railway jobs offered for women cricketers in India. So when Madhavrao Scindia was hired for the position of Railway Minister, he worked on her request and made railway jobs available for Women’s Cricket.
At that time, there were three Indian Railways women’s cricket team which were Western Railway, Eastern Railway, and Southern Railway. Indian Railways officially started playing the matches at the national level in 1985. Only three teams were involved in these matches at that time. And now there are a total of eight Railways Women’s Cricket teams. Women cricketers have only grown with more teams and jobs available in Indian Railways over more than two decades.
The distribution of the Railways Women’s Cricket Team has a pattern which consists of 16 railway zones. From which 8 cricket teams are formed. They are named Western Railway, Central Railway, Eastern Railway, Northern Railway, Southern Railway, South Central Railway, North Central Railway and North Frontier Railway.
All the eight Railways Women’s Cricket team come together to play for a one-day tournament of inter-railways each year. These matches are conducted mostly in the time between the January and March month. Although this period is not a compulsion and can vary depending on the dates availability of the players or the Central Government.
Now from this tournament, the railways women’s cricket players who performed the best are chosen to get included in the Indian Railways team. Now the formed Indian Railways team plays at the state level. They compete against the state teams of cricket in the domestic one-day and T20 competitions. Lastly, it is not easy to get included in the squad of Indian Railways Women’s Cricket team and you may qualify for playing XI of India but not in Indian Railways unless you up your game in cricket.
What is the process to get into the Railways Women’s Cricket Team?
- A women cricketer who is looking for a Railway Job in India must have completed their 12th standard. This is the basic education qualification to be eligible for the jobs. But if you want to have promotions in Railways Jobs then you must be a graduate.
- Coming to the age which is eligible for Railway Jobs then a cricketer who is 18 years minimum or maximum 25 years can apply for the jobs available in the Central Government of Indian Railways.
- Above or below this age any women cricketer cannot apply for the jobs and are not eligible. However, if the player has played for India in Women’s cricket then there are chances of some leniency with their age and education qualifications in Indian Railway Jobs.
- In addition, few players don’t think or need to apply to Indian Railways for the jobs due to the focus on playing for India at international levels. However, they need to understand and look at the situation to make their future secure.
- Playing for India will only depend on the consistent performances you are going to make and if you fail to do so then you may have to be excluded from the squad.
- When you have an Indian Railways Job then you don’t have to be stressed about the exclusion and being jobless now and then. Plus it is quite profitable to have a Government Job in India.
- Therefore, aspiring women cricketers and current ones who are eligible for Indian Railways Jobs must apply and get one job for them.
Positions and Promotions available for Railways Women’s Cricketer:
Whenever the female cricketer joins the Indian Railways they are given the role of junior clerk. After having worked as the junior clerk the players then get promoted to another position of Sports Officer. Now the payment for them usually depends on the education qualification and the level they play for India. However, the basic salary for the players at the entry-level is Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 35,000 and Class 3 job holders salary is Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 50,000.
In addition, the Railways job has approximately seven to eight increment rounds in their career span. The female cricketers are eligible for approximately three increments in a year. Whereas the non-cricketer female employee will be eligible for only one annual increment a year. Once the female players retire from the Indian Railways job they are given pension. The pension amount is half of the salary they ended up with last in their career as per the New Pensions Scheme.
Salary of Railways Women’s Cricketers:
| Positions | Salary of |
| Entry-level | Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 35,000 |
| Class 3 Job Holder | Rs. 40,000 and Rs. 50,000 |
Perks of Railways Women’s Cricketers:
There are many great perks of Railways Women’s cricketers in India provided by the Central Government. The salary they get is the stability of income in their career. However, there are more advantages they enjoy being in the Indian Railways Jobs. One of the perks they enjoy and are given is the travelling concessions along with a free railway annual pass. Whenever they travel by train the charges are cut off and they have to pay minimum ticket fares for their travelling.
Moreover, the winner of the railways’ team at the inter-railway one tournament is rewarded with special casual leave of 330 days. Plus the teams who get second and third position are rewarded with half-day leave. These perks in Indian Railways are quite impressive and make the players achieve greater heights in their future and grow as a team.
In 2017, the women’s cricket team of India made it into the finals of the World Cup for the second time in the history of cricket. The first time Women’s cricket made it into the finals of the 2005 World Cup in South Africa. However, they failed to win the 2017 World Cup and came as the runner-up.
The 10 players in the squad of 15 players from the runner-up team are included in Indian Railways as the employees were provided with cash prizes each. Each player got Rs. 13 lakhs as the total cash prize awarded to all 10 of them were Rs. 1.3 crores. Among them, senior players like Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur were promoted to Indian railways positions.
These are a few of the perks of Indian Railways Jobs for female cricketers. However, there are chances of more perks which will be given to them in future. Indian Railways is the greatest source of growth, stability and income provider for female cricketers in India.
Current Squad of Railways Women’s Cricket Team:
- Mithali Raj (c)
- Thirush Kamini
- Punam Raut
- Sabbhineni Meghana
- Nuzhat Parween (wk)
- Mona Meshram
- Sneh Rana
- Preeti Bose
- Shweta Mane
- Swagatika Rath
- Arundhati Reddy
- Rajeshwari Gayakwad
- Ekta Bisht
- Poonam Yadav
- Meghna Singh
To know more details about a squad of Railways Women’s Cricket Team, check out this video:
Conclusion:
Indian Railways has been a joy and source of contentment for female cricketers in India. They have used this platform to make their career in cricket conveniently and grow as players without being worried about income. Plus they also provide some great perks which are enjoyable for cricketers and inspire them to be a better player at any cost. Their skill and talent get polished under Indian Railways jobs. We are watching many more females taking up cricket as their career due to the jobs available in Indian Railways.
Also, check out 12 Best Women Cricket Players In India
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