Indian women's cricket blossomed during the 1970s. Shantha Rangaswamy, Diana Eduljee, Sudha Shah and host of such players made the period after 1975 as the "Golden Era" of Indian women's cricket. However, in this year of the World Cup (scheduled to be held at New Zealand from November 29), the Indian women do not have much to look forward too. Women's cricket, like most other sport in the country, has languished in apathy due to various reasons. Thatscricket.com features the "Golden Oldies" of women's cricket in India.

• Pramila's intrinsic worth was under utilised

  That every man/ woman is the maker of his/ her own fortune may be a widely accepted notion. But the wheel of fortune turns round incessantly and none can predict at whose door Dame Fortune will knock. When one analytically examines the talent of Pramila Bhat, former captain of India, the returns appear highly disproportionate. Which again adds substance to the contention that human life, in many cases, is more governed by fortune than reason or logic.

• Plucky player lost out due to selectors' whims

  There are very few players who distinguish themselves from the rest of the creed by being focussed on the most important thing. While some allow themselves to become a bundle of nerves, there are a few who excel in the art of unwinding which leaves them fresh and in the right frame of mind to take on the opponents' bowling.

• Sandhya Agarwal, India's run machine

  To get a name can happen but to a few; it is one of the few things that cannot be bought. It is the free gift of mankind, which must be deserved before it will be granted and is at last unwittingly, bestowed. Talents of the highest order, as are calculated to command universal admiration, exist as commonly as "rare gems".

• Shashi, 'Miss Dependable' of women's cricket

  To display courage at the hour of need is as good as winning half the battle even before the battle has commenced. True courage is not the brutal force of despised men and women; it is the firm resolve of virtue and reason. True fortitude is seen in great exploits of gutsy men and women under adverse conditions.

• Gargi was an architect of batting solidity

  Nothing succeeds like success. Nothing gives permanent success in any enterprise of life, except native capacity accentuated by honest and persevering effort. While some are naturally talented, some toil hard to acquire talent. But ultimately the measure of success is determined by the contribution one makes to the team in its hour of need. Gargi Banerji, who emerged on the international women's cricket horizon in early 1981, was the architect who provided solidity to the brittle top order Indian batting.

• Nilima Joglekar, every inch a team player

  Difficulties show the true worth of men and women. There is no true merit where there is no trial. Without trial, even cowards may pass of for heroines. The higher the obstacle, the greater the glory some attain in overcoming obstacles; the difficulties with which they are met are the maids of honour which set off virtue.

• Shubangi, an all-rounder par excellence

  There are very few genuine "all-rounders" in the game, whether among men or women, in the true definition of the word. There are bowling all-rounders who can also bat and there are batting all-rounders who can also bowl. But a genuine all-rounder is one who can fit into the playing XI both as a bowler as well as a batsman.

• Miss Tiger Ujwala Nikam, first amongst equals

  Bangalore: There is a realm where the rainbow never fades, where the stars are spread out like the islands that slumber on the ocean, and where the beings that pass before us like shadows, will stay in our presence forever. An immortal person is assured of eternal life. To this very special group belongs the first captain of the Indian women's cricket Test team, Ujwala Nikam.

• 'Sharmila heads my list of all time spinners'

  In the pages of the doomsday book are continuously recorded illustrious names; but as often as new names are written, the old names disappear. Only a few stand in illuminated characters, never to be effaced. To this elite group belonged the pint-sized left-arm spinner extraordinaire, Sharmila Chakraborty.

• Steely resolve was Sudha Shah's forte

  In all spheres of sports, we come across players of rare calibre who, undaunted by the limited avenues and various hurdles that life throws at them, bounce back repeatedly. To this elite group belong the highly talented players, who (despite giving their hearts out to the game) do not achieve the pinnacle of glory they justly deserve. Sudha Shah is one of those rare breeds of players, who fit into this group by the sheer strength of her perseverance.

• Fowzi was India's most stylish batsman

  Facing the first ball ever of an International match on Indian soil, which would be an epoch making event in the annals of Indian sports, would have made any seasoned player nervous, leave alone a 16-year-old, with barely two years of cricket experience. But not so with diminutive Fowzieh Khaleeli, the ace opening batsman and wicket-keeper of India.

• Diana Edulji, God's gift to women's cricket

  Diana's name has become synonymous with women's cricket in the country. If there has been a single player who stayed in the limelight by sheer weight of performance, it is Diana Edulji.

• Shantha -The Prima Donna of women's cricket

  Bangalore: Every time women's cricket is talked about, the one name that inevitably crops up is that of Shantha Rangaswamy, the "Prima Donna of women's cricket in India". Even years after she quit playing, the first subject of any conversation concerning women's cricket till date has been Shantha. The impact she has left on the game is such that women's cricket and her name have become inseparable.

Extras:
Photo gallery of Shantha Rangaswamy
Photo gallery of Sudha Shah