Web series on Mumbai cricket in the works: MCA chief Naik

A potential web series to document a full season with the Mumbai cricket team is in the works, said MCA president Ajinkya Naik on Friday.

Mumbai has a rich cricketing history and seeing the culture of its senior team on the big screen will inspire the youth, said Naik. asg-reflektory.pl

MCA will need BCCI’s permission to go ahead with the filming of the documentary, to be directed by Patrick Graham.

“We have requested a few permissions from the BCCI as we want to document the entire season of the Mumbai senior team. Whether it takes the form of a web series or a documentary will be decided as we progress, but the idea is to give fans a unique look at what goes on behind the scenes with the Mumbai team throughout the season,” said Naik.

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Haryana has emerged as the new centre of power in Indian women’s hockey. The girls from Haryana are not only making waves at the international level — with the Indian team, which comprised 35 percent Haryana players, achieving a best-ever fifth-place finish at the World Cup — but they are also dominating the junior circuit at the national level.

Recently, Haryana became the champion of the 16th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship in Pune. In fact, the Haryana team got sweet revenge for last year’s final defeat, beating defending champions Jharkhand 2-1 in the final. Haryana had lost to Jharkhand by the same scoreline in last year’s final at Kakinada.

Haryana coach Azad Singh Malik said the state had won the national title after a gap of three years. Haryana had also won the championship in 2021 and 2022. In the previous three editions, the team had finished runners-up once and third twice.

The Haryana team had remained unbeaten throughout the junior national championship that concluded last week. The team opened its campaign with a 10-1 win over Bengal and followed it with a 3-0 victory over Odisha. In the quarter-final, Haryana defeated Chandigarh 3-1 before cruising to an 8-0 victory over Chhattisgarh in the semi-final.

In the final, Jharkhand took the lead through Mundri Saroj in the 19th minute. Haryana equalised when Bhavya converted a penalty corner in the 23rd minute. Khushi then scored in the 42nd minute to put Haryana ahead and seal the title, Malik said.

The coach said the team had steadily emerged as a strong force at the national level and the current squad had proved its mettle in a tournament featuring several promising young players. Bhavya was named the Player of the Tournament, while Supreet was adjudged the Best Forward.

The Haryana team comprised Ishika, Bhavya, Jasmine, Tamanna, Sakshi and Khushi from Sonepat; Deepika, Himanshi, Kirti, Aditi, Anjali, Diksha, Shashi Khasa, Durga and Vanshishika from Hisar; and Anjani and Sukhpreet Kaur from Kurukshetra.

Importantly, most of these players are from the rural background belonging to families of farming and working classes.

The title assumed significance as the Haryana women’s hockey team has achieved it despite the lack of adequate facilities, including qualified coaches and infrastructure at the grassroots level, say hockey lovers.

The performance of the players from Haryana indicated the potential to play an important role in taking the national team to the top at the international level, including the World Cup and the Olympics, they maintained.

Within the state of Haryana, the women hockey has expanded to Sonepat and Hisar, in addition to its traditional centre, Shahbad, in the Kurukshetra district in recent years. A majority of the players in the present junior team are from these three districts, which include eight players from Sonepat and several others from Hisar and Kurukshetra.

Former Indian captain and coach Pritam Siwach, who trains young players at her academy in Sonepat, said the achievements of Haryana’s hockey players had been overshadowed by the popularity of other sports and needed greater promotion.

She said the current junior squad from Haryana had several players who could soon make debut in the senior Indian team.

“About five or six players are expected to make their transition in the Indian team next year, while some of the younger players also have the potential to make it later on,” she said. The players with the national team potential are Bhavya, Ishika, Khushi, Tamanna, Shashi and Supreet.

Siwach said the players were now receiving support from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Sonepat and increasing competition had contributed to the emergence of a stronger pool of players. However, she said the lack of grassroots facilities, particularly qualified coaches in the districts and astroturfs, could further harness the Haryana’s potential.

The success of Haryana’s junior team comes in the backdrop of best ever performance of the Indian team in the women hockey world cup with fifth position recently. The Hockey India has announced a reward of Rs 50 lakh to the Indian women’s hockey team for the same.

Notably, as many as seven of the 20 players in the Indian squad for the Asian Games are from Haryana, accounting for 35 per cent of the team which has headed to Japan including goalkeeper Savita Punia from Sirsa; defenders Jyoti and Shilpi Dabas from Shahbad in Kurukshetra; midfielders Sakshi Rana and Neha Goyal from Sonepat; and forwards Navneet Kaur from Shahbad and Deepika from Hisar.

Azad Singh Malik said Savita Punia, a resident of Jodhkan village in Sirsa district, remained an important part of the Indian side. Punia, who has been known as the ‘Wall of India’ for her performances as a goalkeeper, has spent her crucial years of training in Haryana and remains an important player for the national team. She was recently awarded the Padma Shri for her contribution to Indian hockey.

India will take on Pakistan in a Group A clash at the ACC Women’s Asia Cup 2026 in Dubai later today with a chance to keep their 100% win record alive. The match comes with the Indians already through to the semi-finals but the rivalry should make it a contest worth watching. The Pakistanis will be looking to challenge a side that has had the better of them in recent meetings.

India have made a strong start to the tournament. They beat Thailand by 94 runs in their opening match before following it up with a 137-run win over Hong Kong. Smriti Mandhana was the standout performer in the second game, scoring 124 off 64 balls. Deepti Sharma has also been among the leading performers, taking six wickets across the first two matches.

Also Read: India vs Pakistan, ACC Women’s Asia Cup 2026 Preview: When and where to watch?

Pakistan, meanwhile, will need a better performance if they are to trouble India. Their bowlers will have to find a way to contain Mandhana and Shafali Verma, while the batting unit will need to put up a competitive total. India’s middle order will also be tested, with the team likely to use the match to give players more time in the middle ahead of the semi-finals.

The two teams last met at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in Birmingham, where India won by 64 runs. India posted 170/6 and then bowled Pakistan out for 106. Deepti Sharma was the star of the match, taking 5/10, while India’s batting gave them a comfortable cushion. The result continued India’s recent dominance in the rivalry.

India also have the stronger head-to-head record in T20Is. They have won 14 of the 17 meetings between the two sides, while Pakistan have won three.

India have also won eight of their last nine matches against Pakistan, including the 2026 T20 World Cup clash. Pakistan’s last T20I win over India came in the 2022 Asia Cup, when they won by 13 runs.

India definitely has a chance to continue their winning run and sharpen their game before the knockouts. while Pakistan will be wanting to put the past records aside and produce a result that could change the mood around their campaign.

India vs Pakistan, ACC Women’s Asia Cup T20 2026: Predicted playing XIs

India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh (wk), Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Kranti Gaud, N Shree Charani, Nandani Sharma

Pakistan: Muneeba Ali (wk), Shawaal Zulfiqar, Gull Feroza, Ayesha Zafar, Sadaf Shamas, Fatima Sana (capt), Umm-e-Hani, Eyman Fatima, Tuba Hassan, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal

[popcorn number="14-3" desc="India’s win-loss record against Pakistan across 17 women’s T20Is; India have won their previous four encounters" class="Default"]

Having already made the semifinals, a far superior India will be expected to step up the intensity against traditional foes Pakistan in their final league game of the Women’s Asia Cup here on Saturday.

Men or women, routinely scheduled Indo-Pak fixtures in multi-team events have not lived up to the off-field hype for a while now.

Nothing different is expected when the two teams meet at the Dubai International Stadium with title favourites India expected to steamroll Pakistan. Ahead of the game, both India openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma looked at the top of their game. Mandhana broke a battery of records against Hong Kong en route a memorable hundred.

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