A home World Cup, followed by the most-talked-about Hundred season to date. Malolan Rangarajan has lived that storyline once already in India and reckons a similar script in England would be just as powerful.
“As Indians, culturally, it’s very different,” the London Spirit assistant coach said this week, still shaking his head at the speed of change back home. “You needed a catalyst to bring in that change, and I keep saying that every time I talk about it, I get goosebumps.”
Rangarajan was head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore when India’s women won the 2025 ODI World Cup. Crowds turned up in waves for the subsequent WPL, broadcast numbers went through the roof and families suddenly viewed cricket as a realistic career for their daughters. He is convinced England could feel something similar if Heather Knight’s side lift the T20 World Cup in June, only a few weeks before the Hundred starts under its new private-equity model.
“I know it’s culturally very different here,” he said, “but sure if England go on to – although I want India to win the World Cup – but if England do win the World Cup here and then it’s followed by the Hundred, it will have a huge change. You will have a lot more girls and parents encouraging them, ‘Come watch the game!’ So I’m really excited for what’s ahead.”
The Spirit brains trust – Rangarajan, head coach Jon Lewis and performance director Mo Bobat – arrived at Wednesday’s women’s auction looking for balance rather than star names alone. They eventually spent £170,000 on South Africa all-rounder Nadine de Klerk, the fourth-highest bid of the afternoon. De Klerk had been central to RCB’s WPL title, taking 16 wickets at 15.68 with a tidy economy of 7.84. Familiarity, Rangarajan said, helped. He knows exactly where she fits in a squad led by England’s Charlie Dean.
Top billing overall went to Australia’s Beth Mooney and New Zealand’s Sophie Devine at £210,000 each, while England seamer-batter Dani Gibson fetched £190,000. The numbers are eye-catching – and, crucially, public – giving players a level of financial visibility rarely seen in women’s sport in the UK. Rangarajan believes that transparency matters almost as much as the pay itself. “Harman [Harmanpreet Kaur] and the team winning that World Cup has changed the landscape of cricket for women and it just gives hope,” he explained. “It gives the confidence for parents back home in India to tell their girl children, ‘it’s okay, go out of the house, go to work, go to play, it’s fine’.”
Not everyone enjoyed a bumper payday. India’s Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh, both match-winners on their day, went for base price – evidence, perhaps, that auction dynamics are still settling on these shores. Rangarajan shrugged: in the long run, he expects quality to find its price. Short-form leagues, he argues, reward adaptability and consistent skills under pressure, traits both players have shown for India and in the WPL.
The broader numbers suggest interest is still climbing. Ticket sales for women’s Hundred matches last year were up 21%, and ECB executives are quietly optimistic of another jump once the World Cup buzz kicks in. Private-equity investment, approved during the off-season, means teams can now chase commercial deals without quite so many central restrictions. More money should flow directly to the women’s salaries pot from 2027, but visible growth this summer would speed everything up.
There is caution, too. English domestic cricket is juggling calendars, broadcast windows and a congested men’s fixture list. Coaches worry about player burnout, especially among centrally-contracted bowlers whose workloads are already tight. Rangarajan’s view is pragmatic: you can only ride a wave while it is there. “You will have a lot more girls and parents encouraging them, ‘Come watch the game!’” he repeated. That remains the immediate goal.
For now, Spirit’s task is simpler – turn an expensive squad into wins from late July onwards. De Klerk joins Amelia Kerr, Grace Scrivens and Heather Knight in a line-up that looks versatile if light on outright pace. Rangarajan, doubling as match-up strategist, calls versatility “a luxury but also a headache; you have too many options and can overthink it”. Human, messy – like the whole enterprise.
The women’s landscape, then, feels a single result away from another leap forward. If England do lift the trophy, Rangarajan’s evidence from India suggests everything – attendances, sponsorship, even primary-school conversations – moves quicker. If not, growth will likely grind on anyway, just slightly slower. Either way, the Hundred is next in line, and everyone inside it knows the stakes.
