“Women’s cricket is one of the strongest pillars of our development programme” – Abhiram Singh Yadav on Indonesia Women’s cricket roadmap
The Indonesia Women’s cricket team recently made their debut in the Women’s Asia Cup in Dubai. Placed in Group B, they faced Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE). Although they remained winless, they gained valuable exposure.
Now, in an exclusive conversation with RevSportz, the current Chairman of Persatuan Cricket Indonesia, Abhiram Singh Yadav, shared his experience of seeing the team play in the Asia Cup, the future roadmap for women’s cricket in Indonesia, the appointment of head coach Nitish Salekar, and much more. Excerpts:
First of all, how was the experience of seeing the women’s team play their first-ever Asia Cup? Irrespective of the results, what are your thoughts on the overall experience?
It was an emotional and historic moment for all of us. Indonesia had never previously played in a senior Women’s Asia Cup, and suddenly our players were competing on the same stage as established Asian cricket nations. Most importantly, we earned that place through the ACC Women’s Premier Cup. Even at the Asia Cup, there were moments that showed our potential. Against defending champions Sri Lanka, our bowlers had them at 62 for six before they recovered, and we also competed against Bangladesh, another ICC Full Member. For a developing cricket nation, those experiences are extremely valuable because our players learn directly what is required at the highest level.
I do not judge our first Asia Cup only through wins and losses. I look at where Indonesian women’s cricket has come from and where it is going. Our women have been around the No. 20–23 range in the ICC Women’s T20I rankings, our U19 Women became Indonesia’s first cricket team to appear at an ICC global tournament in 2023, and that team defeated Zimbabwe for Indonesia’s first win at an ICC global event. The Asia Cup was another major step in that journey. Now the objective is very clear: this must not be a one-time appearance. We want Indonesia to qualify regularly, compete more strongly each time and ultimately build towards the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
How big an opportunity was this Asia Cup for Indonesia, and how can this experience help the growth of women’s cricket in the country going forward?
The Asia Cup can be transformational because visibility creates belief. Cricket Indonesia’s development programmes have reached more than 200,000 participants, with a very significant proportion being women and girls, and we now have active cricket structures across more than 20 provinces. A young Indonesian girl can increasingly see a real pathway: she can start at school or grassroots level, move into provincial cricket, represent Indonesia at U19 level and eventually play for the senior national team at an Asia Cup. That pathway is far more visible today than it was only a few years ago.
We already have proof that the system can produce international results. Indonesia qualified for the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup, recorded its first ICC global-event victory there, and in 2024 Rohmalia produced the extraordinary figures of 7/0 on international debut – at that time the best bowling figures recorded in men’s or women’s T20I cricket. In 2026, our senior women reached their first Asia Cup, and our U19 Women have also qualified for the Women’s U19 Asia Cup. The next phase is to turn these milestones into consistency through stronger domestic competition, more qualified coaches, more international matches, better high-performance systems and better facilities.
Since your arrival, there has been an upward graph for women’s cricket in Indonesia. What is the vision you have set for the future?
We never plan only for the next tournament. At Cricket Indonesia, we think in terms of 10 and 15-year plans. Our ambition is to make Indonesia one of the leading cricket countries over the long term, and women’s cricket is central to that vision. Our women have already moved into roughly the No. 20–23 range globally, reached the Asia Cup and created a pathway from U19 cricket into the senior team. But we do not want occasional qualification; we want regular Asia Cup participation, stronger Asian Games performances, continued progress through ICC pathways and, ultimately, qualification for the senior ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
The next year will be especially important because we are preparing for the proposed ICC Women’s T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in Bali. The previous EAP women’s qualifier featured eight nations, and this proposed event would be a major opportunity for Indonesia. For us, hosting is not simply about organising a tournament – it gives our players a major pathway event at home and helps Indonesia demonstrate that it can contribute to international cricket as both a competitor and a host. Alongside that, cricket’s return to the Olympic Games at Los Angeles 2028 creates another powerful pathway. Our long-term strategy connects grassroots participation, women’s cricket, youth development, international competition, infrastructure, hosting capability and governance. That is how we believe Indonesia can move from an emerging nation towards becoming one of the stronger cricket countries in the future.
Another significant move has been the appointment of head coach Nitish Salekar. Can you shed some light on the decision to bring him on board?
Nitish is a fantastic coach, but what I appreciate equally is the person he is. He is very grounded, down to earth, hardworking and completely committed to the players and the programme. His experience in developing women’s cricket is extremely valuable for Indonesia because he understands that building an emerging national team requires patience, discipline and attention to the entire ecosystem – not simply coaching 11 players. We have talent and depth; what we need now is to continuously raise the professional and high-performance standards around that talent.
We are already seeing the results under his coaching leadership. Indonesia qualified for its first senior Women’s Asia Cup, and at the tournament, our players gained invaluable experience against Full Members Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The clearest competitive sign came against defending champions Sri Lanka, when our bowlers reduced them to 62 for six before they recovered, showing what this group can do. We believe Nitish can help us reach many more milestones. The next step is to play stronger opposition more regularly, improve our batting, bowling, fielding, fitness and tactical awareness, and continue developing Indonesian coaches alongside him. Our goal is not one successful tournament; it is to build a national-team culture capable of competing consistently at a much higher level.
Can you give us a sense of the current situation of women’s cricket in Indonesia? And after this Asia Cup appearance, what developments do you expect going forward?
Women’s cricket is one of the strongest pillars of our development programme. Across our broader participation base of more than 200,000, women and girls represent a very substantial part of the programme, and we now have a visible pathway from grassroots and provincial cricket into the U19 and senior national teams. Several players from the 2023 U19 World Cup generation have progressed into the senior environment, which is exactly what a healthy pathway should produce. Our senior women have also been around No. 20–23 in the ICC T20I rankings, so there is now a platform from which we can aim much higher.
The next phase is about quality as much as quantity. We want more bilateral series, more cross-regional competition and, especially, more matches against stronger teams. Next year, we are preparing for the proposed ICC Women’s T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in Bali, which will be one of the most important events in our women’s programme. We are also developing the Bali International Oval because better turf facilities and the ability to host international cricket at home will accelerate development. If we combine our participation base with stronger coaching, regular high-quality competition and international-standard infrastructure, I believe Indonesian women’s cricket can make another major jump over the next few years.
From 2030, the Women’s T20 World Cup will be expanded to 16 teams. Is qualifying for the World Cup ultimately the big dream?
Absolutely, and I now call it an objective rather than only a dream. Our women’s programme has already shown that targets which once looked very distant can become achievable. Our U19 Women qualified for an ICC World Cup in 2023 and defeated Zimbabwe; Rohmalia took 7/0 in 2024; our senior women have reached roughly the No. 20–23 range and played their first Asia Cup in 2026; and another U19 generation has qualified for a major Asian event. The next major step is the Women’s World Cup qualification pathway, including the proposed East Asia-Pacific qualifier in Bali next year, for which Indonesia is now preparing.
The expansion of the Women’s T20 World Cup to 16 teams from 2030 creates an even clearer opportunity, but nobody will give Indonesia a World Cup place – we have to earn it. That means more international cricket, stronger opposition, greater player depth, improved strength and conditioning, better facilities and a consistently professional high-performance environment. Our 10–15-year vision is much bigger than qualifying for one event: we want Indonesia to become one of the leading cricket countries. But a senior Women’s T20 World Cup appearance would be a transformational milestone, and seeing the Merah Putih at that tournament is absolutely one of our major targets.
For More Exciting Articles: Follow RevSportz
The post “Women’s cricket is one of the strongest pillars of our development programme” – Abhiram Singh Yadav on Indonesia Women’s cricket roadmap appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.
Comments
Post a Comment