Cricket News

“Ladki ko bech diya, mere muh pe bolte the’- U-19 World Cup Champion Archana Devi’s mother narrates heart-breaking story

India women’s team led by Shafali Verma wrote their name in the history books after they defeated England’s under-19 team in the final to lift the inaugural edition of the Under-19 Women’s 20-20 World Cup on Sunday in South Africa.

India bowled superbly to bundle out England for just 68 runs. It was a combined effort with the ball from the team. The likes of Titas Sadhu, Archana Devi, and Parshavi Chopra picked two wickets each.

India, later, chased down the score in 14 overs with 7 wickets in hand. Skipper Shafali Verma got out early but the likes of Soumya Tiwari and Gongadi Trisha scored 24 runs each.

All the players in the team have made some sacrifices to reach to the top. All have their own stories, their own struggles that they battled to play at the highest level. Among those, story of Archana Devi is definitely worth a read.

Archana Devi lost her father to cancer and also her brother to a snake bite. However, her mother kept her dream alive and despite all the obstacles, she motivated her to take up the sport and keep going. In the final against England, Archana picked two vital wickets of Niamh Holland and Grace Scrivens.

After she lost her father and brother, the people in the village used to call her mother as a ‘Daayan’ (witch).  Later on, when she let her daughter follow her dream of cricket, she was blamed by relatives to let her take the wrong path, which the typical Indian society people terms as ‘galat rasta’.

Archana, later, got admitted in Kasturba Gandhi Awasiya Balika Vidyalaya, which was 20 kms away from her village. People used to say that Archana was sold to some dealer.

“Ladki ko bech diya, ladki ko galat dhande mey daal diya hai, ye saari baatein mere muh pe bolte they (I have sold my daughter, I have put her in a wrong line. People used to tell me these things to my face),” Savitri told Indian Express.

“Bhaiya meri maa bahut mahaan hai, jinhone ek chawanni nahi help kiya kabhi wo aaj mehmaan bane hue hai and ye sabko chai pila rahi hai (My mother is a great person, she is serving teas to those people, who had never helped us with a single penny.)”, Rohit Kumar, Archana’s brother said.