Ahead of India’s 500th test against New Zealand at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur, erstwhile Indian women’s team captain Diana Edulji was amongst the cricket stalwarts felicitated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on September 22, 2016. She was presented a shawl and plaque by the governor of Uttar Pradesh Ram Naik and Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association chief Rajeev Shukla, according to a report on rediff.com
From left: Rajeev Shukla and Ram Naik honoring Diana Edulji
Initially the BCCI only intended to honor captains of the men’s teams but some women cricketers, including Edulji, spoke up strongly. Edulji was quoted by Hindustan Times (HT) of September 20, "In the recent past the BCCI has taken some wonderful decisions for uplifting women’s cricket but inviting the former women’s captains for the 500th test would have done a lot of good for women’s cricket.” When the BCCI accepted their suggestion, she appreciated their gesture but as Edulji, a spokesperson for women’s cricket and former member of the BCCI women’s committee told HT, "We have always had to ask for things. It has never been awarded to us. Whenever there is any discussion on cricket in the BCCI it is all about the men’s team. Any thought on women’s cricket does not come naturally to them.”
Sixty-year-old Edulji was captain of the Indian women’s team in 1978 after having made her debut two years earlier with her elder sister Behroze in the match against West Indies. The all-rounder who batted right hand and bowled left arm holds the Indian record for capturing the maximum number (63) of wickets in 20 tests. In 34 one-dayers she captured 46 wickets. Her run tally was 404 in test matches and 211 in one-day games, as per details shared by erstwhile cricket umpire Keki Doodhwala of Surat.
After retiring from international cricket she served the game by becoming coach, selector and administrator, and in fact was even appointed selector for the men’s (Railways) team. Over the years she has been conferred the Shiv Chhatrapati Award, the Arjuna Award and the Padma Shri. There was even a benefit match organized in her honor.