Bengal set to host India’s first state association-run women's T20 league

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) recently came forward and announced the launch of the Bengal Pro T20 tournament, with a men's event and a women's event, in June 2024. Whenever the tournament launches, it will become the first full-fledged women's franchise T20 tournament in India to be run by an association. 

There is a world-renowned Women’s Premier League (WPL); however, it is not run by a state association, and there have been several women’s exhibition matches scattered around men’s T20 leagues.

Snehasish Ganguly, the president of CAB, came forward to provide the basic details of the Bengal Pro T20 tournament in a press conference at Eden Gardens. The tournament will take place over a 21-day window, with eight teams in both the men’s and women’s events. 

Furthermore, the men’s team will have 17 players, with the women’s team featuring 16, with every player being from Bengal as well as the coaches. It is also worth noting that the men’s matches will be held at the Eden Gardens, whereas the women’s matches will take place at Jadavpur University ground.

All the eight teams will be franchises-owned: Ganguly

CAB president Snehasish Ganguly came forward to talk about the tournament, revealing that all eight teams will be franchise-owned, with the franchises being announced at a later date. Furthermore, he informed that every player will be paid as per the salary cap, and the board will not incur any expenses for the league.

"All the eight teams will be franchises-owned, which will be a first [in India for a state association-run tournament]. We have still not finalized the franchises, which will be announced at a later date, the teams will be completely owned by franchises and all players will be paid as per the salary cap. CAB will not incur any expense for the league," Snehasish Ganguly was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. 

"For long, there had been criticism that Bengal cricketers were not getting opportunities like the ones from Tamil Nadu or Karnataka, this will be the answer to it. Bengal has a lot of talent but they did not have a proper platform till now. This will be a perfect launch pad for them,” he added.