PUMA Unites Influential Women to Elevate Women's Cricket Awareness in India

As part of its ongoing commitment to advancing the sports ecosystem in India, PUMA has assembled a unique coalition of female icons, including actor Kareena Kapoor Khan, businesswoman Vineeta Singh, boxing champion MC Mary Kom, designer Masaba Gupta, and news anchor Faye D’Souza. The collaboration aims to champion women’s cricket and address the significant gender bias in its viewership.

In a distinctive move to foster the sports landscape in India, global sports brand PUMA has joined forces with influential women, featuring Kareena Kapoor Khan, Vineeta Singh, MC Mary Kom, Masaba Gupta, and Faye D’Souza, to champion the cause of women’s cricket in the country. This strategic collaboration serves as a pivotal step in PUMA's mission to develop and promote women's sports.

This exclusive partnership will see these influential women attending a Women’s Premier League (WPL) match in New Delhi on March 10, marking a unique Ladies’ Night to support and celebrate women athletes. PUMA unveiled this association through a digital film featuring the five icons, shedding light on the gender bias prevalent in women’s cricket viewership.

The digital film highlighted a startling statistic: women’s cricket receives only 1/8th the viewership of men’s cricket, revealing a significant gender disparity in the sports ecosystem. Despite the immense potential, women’s cricket in India struggles to achieve comparable viewership numbers, with only 18 percent of women who watch men’s cricket tuning in for the women's game.

The stars in the film not only pledged to attend the WPL match between Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore but also welcomed women from all walks of life to join them for a collective experience on this unique Ladies‘ Night. This initiative is a part of PUMA’s broader efforts to encourage women to engage with and support women’s sports.

Karthik Balagopalan, Managing Director of PUMA India, emphasized the brand's longstanding commitment to breaking gender biases and promoting women’s sports. He stressed the need for women to watch and embrace sports, creating an equitable sporting landscape. Balagopalan expressed confidence that this collaboration with influential women would amplify the narrative, level the playing field, and inspire the future generation of women athletes.

PUMA ambassador Kareena Kapoor Khan, a prominent figure in both the entertainment and now sports industry, acknowledged the need for change in women’s cricket viewership. She highlighted that while cricket is a religion in India, women’s cricket receives significantly less attention and viewership compared to men’s cricket. Kareena welcomed PUMA’s campaign to increase female viewership and encouraged others to join the cause.

This collaboration aligns with PUMA’s broader initiatives, such as its association with the Women's Premier League and its efforts to create awareness around gender disparities in sports viewership. The brand actively promotes a sporting culture in India and boasts a star-studded lineup of brand ambassadors, including Virat Kohli, Sunil Chhetri, MC Mary Kom, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Mohammed Shami.