India speedster Shikha Pandey said on Sunday that all the talks regarding the tinkering of rules in women’s cricket are unlikely to benefit the sport. She suggested that women’s cricket needs more attention in terms of marketing and grass-root developments instead of innovated rules.

The 30-year-old said that she has heard a lot of murmurs of the potential changes that can be brought about to popularise women’s cricket, including changing the size of the ball, the pitch and shortening the boundaries and called all the “suggestions to be superfluous”.

In a thread of tweets, Shikha weighed in on the suggestions. “I have been reading/ hearing a lot about the changes being suggested to help grow women’s cricket/ make it a more attractive product. I personally feel most of the suggestions to be superfluous,” she said.

I have been reading/ hearing a lot about the changes being suggested to help grow women’s cricket/ make it a more attractive product. I personally feel most of the suggestions to be superfluous.

(1/n)

— Shikha Pandey (@shikhashauny) June 27, 2020

“An Olympic 100m female sprinter doesn’t run 80m to win (gold medal) and clock the same timing as her male counterpart. So the whole ‘decreasing the length of the pitch’ for whatever reasons seems dubious. Also, it almost definitely takes the double headers out of question.

“Reducing the size of the ball is fine, but as Ian Smith suggested, it only works if the weight remains the same. This will allow for bowlers to grip the ball better – more revs for the spinners – and hits will also travel further (not be the case if it is light).

“Please don’t bring the boundaries in! We have surprised you with our power-hitting in recent times, so remember, this is only the beginning; we will get better. Please have patience. We are skilled players, who are evolving.

“Growth can also be achieved by marketing the sport well. We don’t have to tinker with rules or the very fabric of the game to attract an audience.

“Why not have DRS, Snicko, Hotspot, all of the technical acumen and live broadcast for every game that we play anywhere in the world.

“Heavy investments at grass root levels, equal playing opportunities, zero discrimination etc.”