New Delhi, Nov. 5 -- When Harmanpreet Kaur lifted the World Cup trophy under the lights of a packed DY Patil Stadium on Sunday night, it was the joyous culmination of a journey for Indian women's cricket that had endured decades of near anonymity and indifference. One that saw years of quiet persistence by those who played the game for the sheer love of it. Now that the wait for a global accolade has finally ended, what comes next in the women's game after the euphoric celebrations are done will also be extremely important. Former India captain Anju Jain, who is now a coach and had seen women's cricket move from the margins to mainstream sporting and social consciousness, called it "heartening" to see full stadiums for the home team's games and household recognition for the players. "Before us too, a lot of cricketers played purely for passion. for nothing. I saw that when Shanta [Rangaswamy] di and Diana [Edulji] di were still playing," she recalled. "If those players hadn't kept going through those times, we wouldn't have reached here." Jain captained India to the semi-finals in 2000, but she believes that things started to change a few years later after the Board of Control for Cricket in India hesitantly allowed the Women's Cricket Association of India to merge. The takeover by BCCI in 2006 changed the landscape of women's cricket - the board's financial might helping to bring infrastructure, facilities and structure. However, almost two decades down the line, even after India's historic win, Jain feels "the gap still exists", especially at the domestic and development levels. "I just hope this win bridges that. BCCI has done a lot, but this is the moment to close the distance between the top and the rest. For the bridge to be wider." For Mamatha Maben, who was part of the early generation that played without contracts or even allowances, the win feels like a kind of vindication. "It's taken nearly 50 years," she says, joyous and relieved. "We came close (to winning the ODI World Cup) in 2005, 2017 but this time we finally crossed the line. Harmanpreet [Kaur] set the ball rolling in 2017, and the Women's Premier League was the second big shift. This is the icing on the cake." Kaur's incredible 171* against Australia and their run to the final in 2017 had a cascading effect. It showed India could challenge the top teams Australia and England. India fell short a few times after that, but something had been tapped into back then. With exposure and game time, WPL also helped widen the horizon for the players. Maben, however, says the glow of victory cannot hide the cracks that persist below the elite tier. "The Indian team has got the best now. But one level down, it's not the same story. Players leave jobs to play cricket. Some juggle both. That's where investment has to go - domestic structure, grassroots, full-time professionals." She points to Australia's domestic cricket ecosystem as the benchmark. "Their players are well looked after. For us, even after WPL, there's still that mindset at the state level - 'is it worth investing in women?' That has to change. I hope it will." Currently, India's women's central contracts are divided into three brackets: Grade A: Rs.50 lakh, Grade B: Rs.30 lakh, Grade C: Rs.10 lakh. By comparison, the men's retainers begin at Rs.1 crore for the lowest tier and reach Rs.7 crore for Grade A+, the top-tier. The gap is stark, not just in earnings, but in what it signals about value. For naysayers, the return on investment so far was low and so the discourse would be shut down, but with the ICC and BCCI's generous financial rewards at the World Cup, one can expect a shift. However, for those below the elite level - players who are yet to break into the Indian team - there needs to be financial incentive and stability to pursue cricket as a full-time career. At present, many domestic players are forced to juggle part-time jobs because the earnings from the game alone cannot sustain them. A structured and equitable pay system at the grassroots is now essential. This is the moment to make those changes. A World Cup-winning team is expected to not only inspire a generation, it must also strengthen the ecosystem that feeds it. As Jain puts it, the next phase of growth also depends on equal opportunities, not only for the players but also for the coaches and support staff....