Hyundai campaign celebrates fearless rise of women’s cricket in India

MUMBAI: It’s not just the scoreboard that’s changing, the script is getting a fearless rewrite. Hyundai Motor India has rolled out a new campaign celebrating the meteoric rise of women’s cricket, using the growing popularity of the sport to challenge outdated stereotypes and spotlight a generation of athletes rewriting the rules of the game.

Created in partnership with Innocean India as part of Hyundai’s ongoing association with the International Cricket Council (ICC), the campaign stars Indian cricketers Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues. Built around Hyundai’s brand platform, “Hyundai, Deewane India Ka Deewana Humsafar,” the film positions women’s cricket as a game powered by skill, grit and unwavering self-belief rather than conventional expectations.

At the heart of the campaign is a simple but striking insight. While cricket has long been labelled a “gentleman’s game”, women cricketers are often questioned for displaying the same aggression, intensity and competitive spirit celebrated in their male counterparts. The film turns that notion on its head with its central line, “Kyuki na hum gentle hai, aur na men.” Rather than portraying Mandhana and Rodrigues solely as sporting icons, the campaign casts them as symbols of a broader transformation taking place across Indian sport. Women’s cricket has rapidly evolved from a niche discipline into one of the country’s fastest-growing spectator sports, attracting larger audiences, greater commercial interest and increasing brand investment.

The campaign also marks a shift in how brands are approaching women’s sport. Instead of asking audiences to support women’s cricket out of obligation, Hyundai and Innocean position it as a spectacle that has earned its place through compelling performances and growing fan engagement. The film is being amplified across digital, social media and ICC-owned platforms, extending Hyundai’s long-standing association with cricket while strengthening its connect with one of the sport’s fastest-growing fan communities.

As brands increasingly look beyond traditional endorsements towards stories that reflect changing cultural realities, Hyundai’s latest campaign suggests that the biggest victory for women’s cricket may no longer be proving it belongs but celebrating how far it has already come.