Published By: Saksham Mishra

The need for Women's IPL

It seems that Indian cricket is already a couple of years behind the curve as the Women's IPL should have definitely started by now. A pilot project of the women's IPL known as the women's T20 Challenge is generally conducted alongside the playoffs of the men's IPL, like it happened in 2020 when it was played in the UAE despite the covid-19 pandemic. However, the tournament wasn't held in 2021.

There is a feeling that the BCCI would have gone ahead to start a women's IPL but the COVID-19 pandemic threw a spanner in the works and everything became 10 times more difficult.

At least in theory, there is no denying the fact that a women's IPL is the need of the hour, not only to commercialize the game and make it more economically viable but for the progress of the Indian domestic cricketers as well who feel overwhelmed when they make the leap from domestic cricket to the cut-throat level of international cricket.

Following India's loss in the multi-format series against Australia in 2021 after failing to hold their nerves in a couple of close encounters, captain Harmanpreet Kaur did not mince words in her demand for a women's IPL.

"If you look at the way Tahlia McGrath batted today, we can see the confidence they are getting from a tournament like WBBL. She has not played much in international cricket but got to play many matches before playing for Australia. Ever since the men's team got a platform like the IPL, young male talents competing at the international level show maturity in their performance because they carry with them the tag of 40-50 IPL games, where they may have played very good cricket, even winning their side's matches."

"I think that is the only reason we are lacking right now. If we get the opportunity to play domestic cricket at a good level before playing such international games, we will definitely improve as a team. I think that is the only reason we are lagging right now. Before getting to play in an international, if we get a chance to play in a domestic tournament like IPL, we will definitely improve. In Australia, they get 20-30 matches in WBBL before getting to international cricket. It will develop your skills and give you experience so that you don't feel lost in international cricket," Harmanpreet Kaur said.