From polite applause to full-throated cheers: JioStar backs the Women in Blue

MUMBAI: With the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 fast approaching, JioStar and the International Cricket Council (ICC) have launched an ambitious nationwide campaign designed to do more than promote a tournament. It wants to change the way India cheers.

Built around a simple but powerful idea, the campaign tackles a long-standing perception gap in women’s cricket. While India’s women have delivered remarkable performances and lifted the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2025, the level of fandom surrounding them has yet to match their achievements. JioStar’s latest effort aims to bridge that divide by turning respect into passion and admiration into unwavering support.

At the heart of the campaign is a moving film featuring captain Harmanpreet Kaur alongside Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma and Renuka Thakur. Set aboard an aircraft awaiting the arrival of “world champions”, passengers naturally assume the men’s team is about to board. The reveal, however, is India’s women’s side. Through the eyes of an excited young fan, the film highlights a changing India one where sporting heroes are defined by achievement, not gender.

JioStar’s head of content, Sports, Siddharth Sharma, said the campaign reflects a shift between traditional sporting loyalties and the more inclusive outlook of younger fans. The message is clear: world champions deserve world-class support.

The campaign extends well beyond a single advertisement. Actors Alia Bhatt and Sharvari Wagh feature in a separate promotional film that reinforces the idea that India’s women’s team represents the nation just as proudly as its men’s side. Framed as a casual podcast conversation, the promo presents women cricketers as household sporting icons rather than exceptions.

A creator-led push will further amplify the message through the #T20CreatorClub initiative. From young cricket prodigy Shreya Singh meeting her heroes to special tributes celebrating stars such as Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues, the campaign aims to keep conversations around women’s cricket alive across social media.

Fans can also expect a steady stream of original programming on JioHotstar and Star Sports. Documentary-style features including Hum Hogaye Kamyab, which revisits India’s triumphant 2025 World Cup campaign, and Jasba Jeet Ka, chronicling preparations for the T20 World Cup, will offer viewers a closer look at the team’s journey.

The timing could hardly be better. The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, set to be the biggest edition in the tournament’s history, will be held in England and Wales from 12 June to 5 July, featuring 12 teams competing across 33 matches. India begin their campaign against Pakistan on 14 June before taking on the Netherlands, South Africa, Bangladesh and Australia in a challenging group-stage schedule.

For JioStar and the ICC, the mission is bigger than television ratings or streaming numbers. It is about ensuring that when the Women in Blue walk onto the field, they are greeted not with surprise, but with the kind of deafening support reserved for sporting legends.

And if the campaign succeeds, the loudest sound this summer may not be bat meeting ball but an entire nation finally finding its voice for women’s cricket.