JioStar, the official broadcaster of the upcoming men’s T20 World Cup, has earned widespread praise for a refreshing and powerful promotional campaign that turns convention on its head by featuring India’s World Cup-winning women cricketers as the face of the tournament.
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma headline the advertisement for the 20-team ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, set to begin on February 7 across India and Sri Lanka.
Role reversal strikes a chord
The promo draws from India women’s historic 50-over World Cup triumph in November 2025, with the players expressing confidence that the ICC trophy will remain in India. “We got one cup home — we won’t let the other one go,” Jemimah and Shafali say in the video, a line that has resonated strongly with viewers.
Adding to the impact, the women cricketers are seen wearing men’s team jerseys, including that of captain Suryakumar Yadav, reinforcing a symbolic role reversal. Shafali’s line, “After all, our boys are no less than our girls,” has since gone viral on social media.
Fans applaud creative shift
Fans and analysts alike have applauded the campaign for breaking stereotypes. Traditionally, male cricketers have been used to promote women’s tournaments. This time, the narrative is reversed, highlighting the growing stature and influence of women’s cricket in India.
India’s women had silenced critics with a dominant World Cup win at home, with Jemimah starring in the semi-final against Australia and Shafali delivering a memorable all-round performance in the final versus South Africa.
Focus shifts to men’s campaign
Attention now turns to the men’s team, who will look to defend their T20 title. India open their campaign against the USA in Mumbai on February 7, before facing Namibia, Pakistan and the Netherlands in the league stage.