In an interview with PTI published on Friday, Sourav Ganguly answered questions on several delicate issues. The BCCI President has successfully steered through his grueling 26-month tenure which has witnessed all kinds of action be it the disruptions due to Covid-19, criticism about not doing enough for women’s cricket, or allegations that he tried to influence selectors.
Addressing the allegations about him influencing the selection committee and his presence in selection meetings he said, “I don’t think I need to answer anybody anything (on this) and dignify any of these baseless accusations. I am the president of BCCI and I do the job of what the president of BCCI should be doing,”
Amidst all the questions and answers, there was something interesting to take away for all the women cricket supporters who have been demanding a full-fledged Women’s IPL tournament since a long time now.
“We are at the level of formulation to have a full-fledged WIPL. It is certainly going to happen. I strongly believe that next year i.e. 2023 will be a very good time to start a full-fledged women’s IPL which will be as big and grand a success as men’s IPL.”
~ S Ganguly to PTI
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) February 4, 2022
Earlier this week, it was announced that the Women’s T20 Challenge will be held simultaneously with the Men’s IPL knock-outs. With the popularity of the women’s game on a rise, the question of when will India witness a full-fledged WIPL is obvious to the masses.
In an optimistic response, Ganguly said, “We are at the level of formulation to have a full-fledged WIPL. It is certainly going to happen. I strongly believe that next year i.e. 2023 will be a very good time to start a full-fledged women’s IPL which will be as big and grand a success as men’s IPL.”
With an eye on the Covid-19 situation, BCCI is putting a plan in place to hold the illustrious Indian Premier League in India. He said,” Well, as BCCI has always maintained that this is the Indian Premier League and we would ideally want to hold it in India. Yes, we haven’t yet officially announced as we are still tracking the COVID-19 situation in the country. Yes, we would finalize the venues in some time. The plan is very much to hold it in India and we are preparing accordingly.”
Sourav Ganguly also took to Twitter today and shared a video wishing the Indian Women’s Team all the best for the upcoming Women’s World Cup.
30 days for the start of the women’s World Cup in NZ ..wish the Indian team and the rest of the teams all the very best …@ICC @BCCI pic.twitter.com/ep8gkbCncJ
— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) February 4, 2022
He said,” We are not allowing spectators at the Eden Gardens for the three T20 Internationals. There will not be any tickets for the general public,”
BCCI doesn’t want to jeopardize players’ health by allowing spectators even after having clearance from the West Bengal government.