‘Bend It Like Beckham’ fame Gurinder Chadha creates cricket trailer to promote India-England women’s series

More than two decades after she made a girl ‘bend’ the rules to reach her goal in professional football, acclaimed British-Indian filmmaker Gurinder Chadha is now ready to rock with her work on cricket.

Chadha, who reshaped cultural conversations in the UK with her blockbuster ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ in 2002, has created a film trailer to promote England’s series against the visiting Indian women’s team after agreeing to a collaboration with the host board (ECB). The series features five T20Is followed by three ODIs beginning Saturday.

The three-minute film celebrates the fierce rivalry and also the cultural unity between the two teams and their fans, as well as “spotlighting the evolution of women’s cricket into the sporting spectacle” it is today, the ECB said in a press release.

On working with the ECB, director Chadha said, “I was delighted to be asked to work on this project with England Women. I’m a huge fan of women in sport and I grew up with this tumultuous series as my dad was a huge cricket fan.

“So I was inspired by his love of the game to champion yet another women’s sport that’s so important to me.

“The current England squad has a great energy, and I wish them the best of luck in the upcoming series gainst India – but India also has a great squad so I’m sure it will be fantastic moment for the game and fans whomever you support! I’ll be there watching.”

The first T20 International will be played at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

The film, which features English stars Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Heather Knight and Lauren Filer alongside fans, seeks to depict the on-field rivalry and off-field camaraderie between the two great cricketing nations, and uses some legendary moments from past England-India matches across genders.

The trailer features the famous shirt-waving celebrations by Sourav Ganguly and Andrew Flintoff, as well as the much-discussed run-out during a match between India Women and England Women at Lord’s, and makes subtle references to some of the iconic scenes in ‘Bend It Like Beckham’.

Clare Connor, ECB deputy CEO and managing director of England Women said: “Gurinder’s previous film, Bend It Like Beckham, was decades ahead of its time in terms of celebrating women in sport, particularly for South-Asian women in Britain.

“She was the perfect person to work with on this trailer, and we hope this film shows the impact women’s cricket is having by spotlighting this major series and creating excitement ahead of a World Cup on home soil next summer.”

For the first time, England Women will play India alongside England men’s team and England men’s mixed disability team, demonstrating the significance of the joint series.

It perfectly sets in motion the ECB’s tune-up to the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup in 2026, which will take place on home soil.