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World Cup campaign: Star Sports film encourages women to take up cricket in India

For the ICC women’s world T20 championship, Star Sports has created a film for India called ‘Ab Balla Bolega. [which translates as ‘Now, the bat will do the talking’].

Created by the channel’s in-house marketing team, the film is about a young girl who aspires to be a cricketer but is rebuffed at every turn.

Then she gets a cricket bat and shows a surprising aptitude for the game, in a symbolic tale of Indian women’s cricket. 

Speaking about the campaign, Star Sports CEO Gautam Thakar said: “We have launched the #GiftABat movement to inspire more women to take up sports and also get their families on board to support their dreams.

“This stems from the idea that while a cricket bat is a very common gift for boys, it never features as a gifting idea for girls. There is no time like now to break this norm, and that is what our campaign aims to do.”

The backdrop to the campaign is the fact that for the longest time, women’s cricket has been ignored in India. Interest in the women’s team peaked last year after India made it to the ICC Women’s World Cup Final. Star Sports is hoping to revive that interest for the currently ongoing T20 tournament. 

Running on television and digital in India, the campaign will play out through most of November.

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