Women in Blue: Sixteen Warriors, One World Cup Dream

MY THOUGHTS

From growing up playing in the school band to living in a house full of sports crazy humans, my life has sure done a 180 degree turn. Every sport is celebrated at home by watching live matches, armchair analysis, and by making dream teams online. While the father and sons indulge themselves in these activities I try (very hard!) to keep a track of their interests. But I remember keenly watching the final of the Women’s World Cup and cheering way into the night at the amazing achievement.

Before 3rd November, 2025, we did know a few of the players on the Women’s cricket team — Smrithi Mandana, Harmanpreet Kaur, veteran Mithali Raj — but we weren’t invested in their life stories. Author Suprita Das helps us not only get a deeper look into the lives of these women who have braved odds to reach where they are now, but does so in a manner that is fun and interesting for children to read. I loved the story of Jemimah Rodrigues and how she became interested in the sport by playing “chappal cricket” with her brothers at home or the factoid from the Did You Know section where Suprita adds the anecdote of Jemimah finding her name in her bhelpuri newspaper cone! These stories show that they aren’t just from research but that Suprita has spent hours in intimate conversations with the players.

Each chapter focusses on one player from the team and traces their journey with interesting incidents from their childhood to the winning match finale. We see them as women who have overcome adversities and truly fought to be where they are. the stories stay on in our minds long after we are done with the book. Suprita’s thorough and painstaking research ensures children remember the players not just with stats but connect with them through deep personal stories.

The illustrations by Masala Monkeyz add to the fast-paced, emotional nature of the book by showing each player in action rather than in static posed portraits. The blue, orange, and white colour palette of the book is a nod to their iconic jersey.

The easy-to-read, engaging nature of the book draws the most reluctant reader in and holds their attention as they read about player after player. This is a great book to gift and reminded me of a season when I gifted every young girl a copy of Girls Who Dare to Be Different. This is a book I will not just be gifting to young sportspersons in my life but to anyone who is old enough to remember November 03, 2025 as a red letter day in Indian sports.