Mumbai: When I first stepped into the Wankhede press box twenty-four years ago to cover an India versus England one-day international, I felt a heavy sense of imposter syndrome. Being one of only two women among the reporting contingent left me terrified of what my male peers and senior colleagues would think of my work. Although my male colleagues at the local tabloid frequently reminded me of how talented my predecessor was, the editor was pleased with my output, allowing my career in cricket journalism to take off. Little did I anticipate that two decades later, online detractors would dismiss me as a complaining crybaby and a sexually frustrated woman, telling me to shut up and get lost.
Over the course of my career, I have reported on major global tournaments across South Africa, Australia, the Caribbean, and India. I have worked across print, digital, and television platforms for leading publications and news networks, earning prestigious journalism awards along the way. I have co-edited long-form cricket publications, edited specialized content, and interviewed legendary players like Shane Warne, Brian Lara, and Sachin Tendulkar.
For much of that time, journalists operated inside a bubble. Unless people knew you personally, they had no direct way to contact you or comment on your work beyond occasional brief chats at a stadium. My first real encounter with modern online hostility occurred in 2013, when I wrote an article questioning the presence of pitch-side presenters who lacked deep knowledge of the game. While the piece sparked accusations of envy and being a feminist, the backlash was relatively minor and manageable.
Returning to cricket broadcasting earlier this year to co-host a digital show made it immediately clear how much the landscape had transformed. Traditional coverage is now dominated by influencers, Instagram, TikTok, and a constant culture of metric-driven outrage. Short clips are manufactured into reels to maximize impressions, which frequently exposes the content to hostile viewers who engage without considering context.
Our show features a segment where I offer perspectives on broader social issues surrounding the sport, including its politicization, colorism, racism, and sexism. Some of the most severe abuse followed segments where I critiqued controversial commentary regarding international player selections and questioned the ongoing reliance on foreign cheerleaders in the Indian Premier League, pointing out that the practice leans into systemic colorism and has been phased out by several American football teams.
Once I began expressing these strong viewpoints on the program, a torrent of hostility arrived. While I had previously dealt with isolated physical boundary violations during field reporting, such as being groped in crowds or handling a stalker, the modern digital experience is characterized by a relentless stream of vicious micro-assaults.
The resulting misogyny is pervasive and unmistakable. Online harassers have hurled sexist slurs, made racist remarks, accused me of trading sexual favors for career advancement, and even expressed explicit wishes for physical violence against me.