The rise of a new women’s tournament is on the horizon as the USA plans to launch a franchise league.
There is a rise of local domestic tournaments for women cricketers from various corners of India and in overseas countries to provide them a platform to showcase their talent. Many countries has it’s own version of a women’s T20 franchise league.
India have launched the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in 2023, Australia has the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), England has The Women’s Hundred that was eventually launched in the year 2021, New Zealand has the Women’s Super Smash, launched in the year 2009, West Indies has the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) and so on. These tournaments have been instrumental in unearthing talent from the remote corners of the world and eventually turned out to be beneficial for developing a pool of players that can represent their respective countries at the international level.
Conscious efforts have been made to promote cricket as an inclusive sport especially in areas where cricket fails to grab the attention of the audience. The upcoming edition of the ICC Men’s T20I World Cup is set to be hosted by the USA and the West Indies in a few days time. While the upcoming edition of the Women’s T20I World Cup will be hosted by Bangladesh. Cricket is also set to be a part of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The USA Women’s team will earn a direct qualification in the 2028 Olympic Games, courtesy of it being a host nation. As far as the T20I format is concerned, the USA women’s team led by skipper Sindhu Sriharsha were recently involved in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers in Abu Dhabi in April-May this year. Interestingly, they have never featured in a major ICC event.
The US launched their men’s domestic franchise league, coined as the Major League Cricket (MLC), last year in 2023. MI New York led by skipper Kieron Pollard were crowned as the champions of the inaugural edition of the tournament. With an eye on the USA Women’s cricket team’s participation in the upcoming edition of the Olympic Games, the US is hopeful of launching a new women’s T20 franchise tournament in the near future.
However, there is no specific time frame decided yet for the launch of the league. A few franchise owners have shown their keen interest in investing in a women’s team, as and when the launch of a women’s league turns into a reality.