No country for women? Mithali Raj asked a sexist question, her epic answer invites more sexism

Indian Women's Cricket captain Mithali Raj recently stood up for her sport when asked a sexist question and got trolled on Twitter.

Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj is committed to elevating the status of the sport to the often highlighted men’s cricket and it’s not only evident in her on field style but also in the manner that she speaks. Recently, when Raj was asked who was her favourite male cricketer on the eve of Women’s World Cup, she hit back like a total boss.

While speaking to ESPNcricinfo at the opening dinner, Mithali Raj was asked by a reporter which men’s cricketer between India and Pakistan was her favourite to which, she replied, “Do you ask the same question to a male cricketer? Do you ask them who their favourite female cricketer is?” As necessary and reasonable as her response was, sadly, it seems to have backfired as the counter argument presented by Twitterati is mainly ignorant and classically sexist.

Mithali Raj, Indian Womens Cricket, Captain

Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj and coach Tushar Arothe during a pre-departure media conference as the team leaves for the ICC Women’s World Cup, in Mumbai on Saturday. (Courtesy: PTI/Shashank Parade)

“There’s a lot of difference because we are not a regular on television. Now the BCCI has made an effort that the last two home series have been televised and social media has improved a lot of it but there is a still a lot of catch-up to do in terms of recognition,” Raj added. And evidently, there certainly is a lot to catch up.

When cricket writer Adam Collins posted a tweet lauding Raj’s fiery response, several users turned to justifying why male cricketers aren’t asked that question, inadvertently bringing out the gender bias that Raj spoke about.

While women’s cricket is being uplifted with them receiving a higher daily allowance and earnings per game, these responses clearly indicate that there is still a long way to go before the sport can be treated fairly against men’s cricket.

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