Ever wondered how the Indian women’s cricket team had the ‘Champions’ jersey on them moments after they beat South Africa in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup final at the DY Patil Stadium on November 2?
mid-day has learnt that the order for the special Team India jerseys was placed immediately after Harmanpreet Kaur & Co beat Australia in an epic semi-final chase at the same venue two days before the final.
Last-minute decision
“When our women’s team won the semi-finals, there was just about time to place an order for special jerseys because otherwise it would have been too late for our kit manufacturer to prepare them in time for the final which was just two days later,” a source in the Indian team told mid-day recently.
Fortunately, the result went in India’s favour. Had it gone the other way, the jerseys, with the word ‘Champions’ printed on the front, would have been sent straight to the inventory room of the BCCI headquarters, waiting to be revealed at some other appropriate opportunity.
The source had not doubt though. “The belief was very strong that this time the World Cup would be ours, especially after the win over Australia. So, I took the chance of going ahead and ordering the champions jerseys,” the source added.
Players unaware
Being the handiwork of just one person, the plan of the jerseys was kept top secret. “Nobody in the team — players, coaches or the other support staff members — knew that these special jerseys were being prepared. The box of jerseys was kept hidden in the team hotel. I got them to be delivered to the DY Patil Stadium only after the eighth South African wicket fell [of Chloe Tryon] in the final.
The idea was to make the moment really special and memorable for the team,” the source concluded.