Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has set aside a window for the first-ever edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for women in March 2023 and the process to get the show on the road is underway, said board chairman Sourav common.
According to ESPNCricinfo, the board has made changes to the domestic women’s cricket calendar to make way for women’s IPL. The women’s season, which generally runs from November to April, has been moved up by a month. The season starts on October 11 with the T20 competition and ends in February 2023 with an inter-zonal ODI competition.
Since 2018 BCCI has been organizing the Women’s T20 Challenge. What started as a one-off exhibition game between two teams in the first season is now a three-team competition. Many players from outside India have also entered the competition. But despite this, the call to have a much bigger league just like the men’s IPL has been growing among players and fans for some time now.
Earlier in February of this year, Ganguly had announced that the women’s IPL would be held next year. “We are at the level of formulation to have a full-fledged WIPL. It’s definitely going to happen. I strongly believe that next year i.e. 2023 will be a very good time to start a full-fledged IPL for women which will be as big and huge a success as IPL for men.”
Owners of IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals and Barbados Royals, The Knight Riders Group, have expressed their interest in competing in the tournament and owning a women’s IPL team. The inaugural edition of the women’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL), which will take place later this year alongside the men’s tournament, will feature three teams, including Trinbago Knight Riders, owned by Knight Riders Group.
BCCI is expected to hold a discussion on issues related to IPL for women at its annual general meeting in September this year. Much of the planning around the tournament will revolve around the sale of the media rights.
Thanks to India’s improvement and great performances at major ICC events in recent years, the enthusiasm for women’s cricket in India is at an unprecedented level. The last of these achievements was the Women in Blue who won a silver medal at the recently concluded 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
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Moreover, senior Indian players such as Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and former Indian skipper Mithali Raj have supported the idea of IPL for women. Raj even expressed a desire to come out of retirement to participate in the tournament.
“I’m keeping that option open. I haven’t made a decision yet. There are still a few months to go before the Women’s IPL takes place. It would be great to be part of the inaugural edition of the Women’s IPL,” she said during her speech. on ICC’s 100% Cricket podcast earlier in July.
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