The maiden edition of the Women’s Indian Premier League is not too far away now, with the BCCI planning to conduct the tournament in March 2023, ahead of the men’s IPL.
The demand for the Women’s IPL has been there for many years now, and it was only in September this year that former BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly confirmed that the inaugural Women’s IPL will be held in 2023. There is no shortage of talent in the country as we have seen with the emergence of the likes of Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, Richa Ghosh, and many others. The Women’s IPL will surely add to the talent base and will also give exposure to the cricketers.
India has done pretty well in recent ICC tournaments but has displayed a tendency to fumble in crunch situations. The 2017 World Cup Final and the recently concluded Commonwealth Games Final are good examples to validate the point. As such, the WIPL will give the cricketers ample opportunities in high-pressure situations, something which will hold them in good stead when they face similar situations in big international clashes.
Many cricketers and pundits have emphasized the need for the WIPL and how it will change the cricketing landscape for women in India. India’s senior players Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur recently admitted that the tournament will help players experience a smooth transition from domestic to international cricket.
The latest to join the bandwagon of those advocating for the Women’s IPL is Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry who was the Player-of-the-Match in the 3rd T20I against India. She admitted that it will be something that every cricketer wishes to be a part of.
“For it to be coming to fruition now, I would imagine every female player around the globe would love to be involved in that”, she said. According to Perry, the WIPL will be the next frontier as far as women’s cricket is concerned.
The WIPL is set to be a five-team league for the first three seasons. The tender process for the sale of media rights is already underway. More announcements are expected in the coming days.
Source: abc.net.au
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