We are working on developing a league similar to IPL for women cricketers: Jay Shah

A total of eight Indian players took part in the Women’s Big Bash League this year. Harmanpreet Kaur won the player of the series award for scoring 399 runs and 15 wickets in the tournament. She became the first Indian player to win this award.

In The Hundred, Shafali Verma, Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Smriti Mandhana, and Deepti Sharma took part in the tournament. Rodrigues finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament as she made 249 runs in seven matches at an average of 41.50 and a strike rate of 150.90. Deepti picked ten wickets in eight matches at an average of 13.6, an economy of 5.26, and a strike rate of 15.5.

Shah praised the way the Indian players have played in foreign leagues like WBBL and The Hundred. He also mentioned how players like Mandhana and Harmanpreet have been very vocal about India having a women’s T20 league.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, BCCI secretary confirmed that the board is working towards organizing a similar league like IPL for the women players in the near future.

“The women’s T20 Challenge has drawn a huge interest among the fans and that is an encouraging sign. We all want a league like IPL for our women cricketers, but it is not just about putting together three or four teams and announcing the launch of a women’s IPL league. There are a lot of factors that come into play like a dedicated window, availability of international stars and bilateral commitments of member boards to name a few. We are exploring all our options and working towards organising a similar league for our female players in future,” Shah said.

“Players like Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur have been very vocal about India having its own T20 league and helping overhaul the standard of the game in India,” he said.

“Having a league similar to the IPL will surely benefit our cricketers as they will get to play alongside international stars. Other than Smriti and Harmanpreet, other Indian team women cricketers did well in leagues like The Hundred and WBBL. Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma and Poonam Yadav are all sought-after players and role models in India. Their stint will definitely help them grow in confidence,” he added.