Mandira Bedi: Overcoming Sexism and Shaping Her Legacy as a Cricket World Cup Host
It was Mandira Bedi’s sincere love for the game that helped her become the host of 2003 Cricket World Cup, and that grabbed the attention of executives at Sony TV. When India reached the semi finals of the Champions Trophy in 2002, Mandira bought a ticket to Sri Lanka to watch the match, even though the channel had flown in celebrities. The network noticed her love of cricket and then got in touch when they had a need for a female anchor for the World Cup.
But her transition to television hosting wasn’t entirely smooth. At first, Mandira had to deal with lots of sexism from various cricket legends on the panel, many of whom didn’t take her questions seriously. Particularly difficult the first week of the show, and she even cried in private because she was getting cold treated. Mandira had often been ignored or undermined, and she felt so isolated with co host’s questions being answered but her questions were not.
Nevertheless, the channel, who had watched the negativity surrounding her read online comments about her, advised Mandira to shun her from what the public was saying about her on virtual platforms. But at that time social media wasn’t as popular with it, the internet still exposed her to those harsh judgments. Despite this, Mandira learned a valuable lesson: not everyone will be a fan and it is important to be thankful for their support in your life, not trying to please them all.
Mandira’s voice rose as her time on the World Cup show went on. She changed the discussions with guidance from the show’s producers who encouraged her to be more assertive and to engage the cricket panel more actively. It’s not only that her newfound confidence made the hosting all the better, but that the experience seemed to be much less stressful for her than it had in previous years.
Her perseverance in the face of adversities is a testimony to her strength and determination. During the tough times, she learned not to concentrate on negative and concentrate positively.
