Pune: Women-only tours for ICC T20 World Cup

PUNE: March to Melbourne Cricket Ground to salute the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup finalists this March 8 — the International Women’s Day.
Going by the current form, Harmanpreet Kaur-led Women in Blue have high chance of taking the field on the second Sunday of this March and lift the Cup at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground). Several travel companies in the city have announced woman-only tours to Australia for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. So, you can just be there.
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will tee off in Sydney on February 21.
As the Down Under is expecting at least five lakh Indians to travel for both the women’s and men’s tournament this year, tour organizers confirmed that they were witnessing a rise in booking from the Indian travellers to visit the women’s sporting event.
“We are seeing a rise in the demand of bookings from Pune to Australia ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup,” said Daniel D’souza, president and country head, Leisure SOTC Travels.
Nishant Kashikar, country manager, India and Gulf, Tourism Australia, said there was a lot of interest among the travel industry, the ICC official travel agents and hospitality agents for the ICC T20 Women and Men’s T20 World Cup. “Approximately 20 travel agents in the city have launched women-only tours for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup,” he said.
“We are looking at an increased interest in the women-only tours and it is likely to pick up as the event draws closer,” added Kashikar.
Other firms also expect the bookings to rise as the event draws closer.
Tourism Australia had earlier started a #LedByWomen (or #LBW) campaign to up its ante to promote the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup.
Nikhil Thakurdas, the owner of the Odyssey Tours and Travels, told TOI that the success of the campaign was partially dampened by the recent bushfires in Australia.
“We are telling our prospective clients that the worst of the bushfires is behind us,” said Thakurdas.
In the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup, India are placed in Group A with hosts Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The Group B comprises England, South Africa, the West Indies, Pakistan and Thailand.
Kaur-led India squad comprises big-hitter Veda Krishnamurthy, Bengal’s rookie batter Richa Ghosh and 15-year-old Shafali Verma.
Opener Smriti Mandhana has been named Kaur’s deputy for the tournament, which begins with India taking on the hosts in Sydney on February 21.