Indian women’s cricket, now celebrated worldwide, owes its beginnings to the vision of Mahendra Kumar Sharma, a little-known but pivotal figure. In 1973, Sharma registered the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI) under the Societies Act in Lucknow, providing an official platform for women to play the sport. To draw interest, he would travel in an autorickshaw with a microphone, urging locals to attend women’s matches. His tireless promotion led to India’s first inter-state women’s nationals in Pune the same year, featuring teams from Mumbai, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh.

As WCAI’s founding secretary, Sharma spearheaded the growth of women’s cricket - expanding national tournaments from three to fourteen teams, enabling India’s first women’s Test match in 1976, and even overseeing the Women’s World Cup in 1978. Despite these milestones, his contributions have often gone unnoticed.

Former cricketer Shubhangi Kulkarni described him as the man who “set the foundation stone for women’s cricket in the country.” Sharma’s determination remains the cornerstone of the sport’s legacy in India.