Next month, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) will play host to a women’s cricket competition, which will include more than 800 players from 50 teams in a 40 overs format league.
Women’s cricket has been on the upswing owing to the remarkable performances put in by the Women in Blue in the recent bilateral series’ and multi-nation tournaments. It is merely an indicator of exciting things on the horizon that the women will accomplish. What is all the more fascinating is the support extended by the fans who have thronged the stadiums in ongoing India versus Australia series that has definitely been the highlight besides the exciting brand of cricket that the Women in Blue have been exhibiting on a consistent basis.
The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is a pioneer when it comes to nurturing and supporting women’s cricket. In a new move, they are all set to launch a women’s cricket league in India next month. Modelled around another famous league organized by the MCA, the Kanga League which has 98 teams spread across 7 divisions; this tournament will have 50 teams. Initially, the plan was to have 32 teams but owing to the rise in the availability and interest of women cricketers, there will be 50 teams competing. Speaking to the Indian Express about the launch of the tournament and the potential impact it seeks to have, MCA president Amol Kale said, “It will be the first league of its kind in India and will benefit more than hundreds of women’s cricketers”.
Delving more into the logistics of the tournament, MCA Secretary Ajinkya Naik shared, “From January end, we will start the tournament with around 50 teams affiliated to MCA and have requested 15-20 players from each team. We will soon finalize the draws and the complete schedule will be shared on the website and our social media platforms”.
The biggest takeaway perhaps is how their website and social media will be leveraged to share all the information with the biggest stakeholders of the game, ‘the fans’ right at their fingertips.
With the Women’s IPL announcement already sending the fans into a tizzy, initiatives like this by different State Cricket Associations will certainly help spark interest and enthusiasm in the fans and the players most importantly who would like to put up good performances and stake their claim for a place in the national team and even for different IPL franchises. All in all, it is certainly an exciting time to be a women’s cricket fan with a myriad of tournaments all set to capture the imagination of fans!
Loves all things female cricket
