Anjum Chopra: A Trailblazer in women’s cricket

Women’s cricket has sharply grown over the last 2-3 years. Some notable steps were taken by the BCCI to increase the participation in women’s cricket. One of the many steps include inclusion of WPL in the domestic circuit. With all the measures, more and more cricketers are willingly taking up the sport.

Playing cricket in India now is much more easier than before. Earlier, women cricketers barely made any money through this sport. Still, during that phase too, many prominent players took up the sport and led women’s cricket to a greater height. One such player was Anjum Chopra.
Chopra was the flag bearer of women’s cricket in India for a long-long time. She was a left handed batter and a right arm medium pacer who was an ace player in the Indian dressing room. She was a witty player who often responded perfectly to the prevailing situations. Her heroics in the ground were primarily due to her strong aura which created an inferiority complex within the opponent’s mind. She had a strong body language and was always seen as a tough player who never shied away from taking tough calls for greater good. Other than her strong character, her skill was also polished. 

Anjum was born on 20 May, 1977 in Delhi and started playing cricket at a tender age of 9. Her family was never reluctant with her participation in cricket. A lot of people from her extended family played some or the other sport, and that too at a good level. Hence, It seemed like she was destined to play cricket. 

Chopra enthusiastically took part in Athletics , Basketball, Swimming as well. She played these sports at school level and basketball at national level too, representing Delhi. 

Early life and domestic cricket 

Her cricket career started when she got selected for U15 for Delhi Team. She used to practice under Mr. Hardeep Dua, Mr. Tarak Sinha and under Dronacharya Awardee Ms. Sunita Sharma. She did her schooling from DPS RK Puram and college from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. Later, she attained her MBA degree from FORE School of management. 

Chopra played domestic cricket for Delhi, the same state from where legends like Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir etc. came. For a brief period, she also played for Air India and later be one of the most successful captains in the women's domestic circuit. Under her captaincy, Delhi won the championship in 2012 and Air India won championship in 2002 and 2003 at both national and zonal level.

International career

Anjum Chopra made her International debut at age 17. She made her ODI debut on  12 February, 1995 V New Zealand and Test debut on 17 November, 1995 V England. After eleven long years, she made her T20I debut as well, that is, on 5 August, 2006 V England. 

She has played 6 World Cups for India, which includes four 50 overs World Cups and 2 T20 World Cups. Across formats, she has represented India on 147  occasions scoring 3,645 runs. She was the first player to play 100 ODIs for India and First Indian to score an ODI

In 2002, she was declared as captain of the national team which added another feather to her cap. Her record as a skipper was pretty decent. She became the first captain to win a test series abroad. 

In 2012, Chopra decided to hang her boots as she retired from all the three formats. She played her last Test on 29 August, 2006 V England, last ODI on 16 March, 2012 V Australia and last  T20I on 23 March, 2012 V Australia.   

International career stats

Awards and achievements 

Anjum Chopra was felicitated with Rajiv Gandhi Delhi State Award in 2004. In 2007, Government of India awarded her with the Arjuna Award and in 2014, she received the prestigious Padma Shri. She is the first woman cricketer from India to be awarded with honorary life membership of Marylebone Cricket Club. Her domestic side-DDCA honoured by naming associations gate by her

Life other than cricket 

Chopra’s life has not been only about cricket. She has tried her hands in plenty of fields and has passed with flying colors in mostly all of them. Presently, She is a commentator and an anchor who enjoys capturing the insights of this sport. 

She has also been the  selector of her domestic side, Delhi. Apart from that, she is an author and a motivational speaker too. She has acted in a documentary called Poor cousins of Million Dollar Babies as well. 

Anjum Chopra is a Corporate speaker/ consultant in MNCs like Vodafone, Standard Chartered. She has worked with South Africa's women team as their consultant in 2012-13 as well. Hence she is the true all rounder both an and off the