In June 2024, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) approved the Delhi & District Cricket Association’s (DDCA) plans to organize the Delhi Premier League (DPL). With this approval, the DDCA joins the growing list of state associations with their own T20 leagues. However, to date, only the Bengal Pro T20 League and the Maharashtra Premier League have included a women’s tournament.
As per News18 CricketNext’s report, the DDCA Joint Secretary Rajan Manchanda confirmed that the BCCI approved the tournament last week. He expressed gratitude towards the board for granting permission to organise the competition.
“We are thankful to the BCCI for granting us the permission to hold the DPL,” Manchanda said.
In May 2024, the DDCA submitted a request to the BCCI seeking approval to host its premier league, which will feature a state T20 tournament for both men and women. The proposal to host the league was approved during the DDCA’s recent Apex Council meeting.
The DDCA has also proposed to begin the women’s tournament alongside the men’s competition, which is expected to significantly boost the women’s game. According to Manchanda, “The request also includes the permission to start the women’s league. Most likely there would be eight & six teams and apart from this we will also have the auctions.”
While there is no confirmed start date or schedule for the competition yet, the DDCA aims to complete it before September 15 this year, just before the domestic season gets going.
“Within a week, we are going to call the tenders to execute the DPL. We have a target of completing the tournament before 15th September,” Manchanda said.
Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium will conduct the DPL, it was renovated last year. It also along with M. Chinnaswamy Stadium hosted the Women’s Premier League 2024.
“We are thankful to the board for giving us the platform. We have proved ourselves during the World Cup and now we again have the opportunity to show the cricket fraternity how we are going to conduct our DPL in the newly constructed stadium,” Manchanda said.
(Quotes sourced from News18 CricketNext)