"A landmark moment for women": Deepika lauds ICC's new maternity return guidelines

The actress shared a report about the initiative on her Instagram Stories and applauded the move.

"A landmark moment for women in sport @icc," she wrote.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) launched its Return to Play Post-Pregnancy Guidelines for female cricketers, providing players, Member Boards, medical professionals and coaches with a practical framework to support the return to cricket after pregnancy.

With women's cricket becoming increasingly professional and career opportunities continuing to expand, more players are choosing to start families during their playing careers and return to elite cricket after giving birth.

These Guidelines have been formed to aid that process and are part of the ICC's broader commitment to player health, wellbeing and the continued growth of the women's game, according to a media release from ICC.

The health and welfare of female cricketers are central pillars in the ICC's approach to women's cricket, which is one of the ICC's six strategic priorities. Part of this approach has seen the ICC roll out a range of women's health initiatives under the 100% Cricket movement to educate players and staff, while building awareness and normalising important conversations in sporting environments.

The Return to Play Post-Pregnancy Guidelines are designed to help Members develop their own pregnancy and return-to-play policies, in line with local legislation, while supporting player welfare through practical, physical and psychological guidance.

To support a safe and sustainable return to cricket, the Guidelines outline the 6 Rs framework: Ready, Review, Restore, Recondition, Return and Refine. The approach covers early recovery after birth, medical and wellbeing reviews, gradual return to structured training, cricket-specific conditioning, return to play and ongoing monitoring once a player is back in the cricket environment.

The drafting of the Guidelines was led by ICC Medical Advisory Committee member and Australia Team Doctor, Dr. Philippa Inge, who helped outline practical support considerations, including flexible training environments, continued access to facilities and services, childcare advice, suitable spaces for feeding or caring for babies at playing venues, and travel support, where possible.

Dr. Inge said,"The ICC's Return to Play Post-Pregnancy Guidelines are designed to show players that having a baby doesn't need to be the end of their career, and what we're aiming to do with this policy is allow Member nations to facilitate the return to cricket for their players."

"We know that many Members haven't necessarily had these in the past, and the aim has been to make them adaptable for the unique environments in which our Members need to use them. The guidelines serve as a template for Members, and strong support for an athlete returning to cricket post-pregnancy needs to be individualised to the specific needs of them and their family," the Doctor said. (ANI)