New Delhi: Beginning in 2023, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to host a full-fledged Women’s IPL. For the first time in two years, the IPL Governing Council met in person and suggested a six-team system with a strong focus on the existing three franchises. At the GC meeting on Friday, March 25, the notion of holding a full-fledged tournament for female cricketers was considered. According to media reports, the current IPL franchises would be given first priority in selecting women franchises.
The BCCI will require the AGM’s consent to start the Women’s IPL next season, after being chastised in the past for failing to do so. In the inaugural season, the Board anticipates having five or six teams.
“It (the full-fledged women’s IPL) has to be approved by the AGM. We plan to start it by next year hopefully,” told BCCI president Sourav Ganguly after the meeting on Friday.
Ganguly had previously stated in an interview with the news agency PTI in February that the women’s IPL would begin in 2023.
Many female cricketers have endorsed the notion of a full-fledged IPL, which is expected to begin next year. The competition will feature six teams.
A full-fledged league for female cricketers is run by the England Cricket Board and Cricket Australia. The CA’s Women’s Big Bash League and the ECB’s The Hundred have both featured Indian women cricketers.
Top international players have participated in BCCI exhibition matches in the past, and their numbers are expected to rise in the coming year.
This year, the BCCI will host exhibition matches once again. The exhibition matches this year would most likely be held in Pune.
Earlier, COVID-19 prevented the women’s contests from taking place in 2021. In 2018, the BCCI held one contest, while four matches were held in 2019 and 2020.
first published:March 26, 2022, 1:11 p.m.