MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering a mini-IPL for women in 2019, with 3-4 teams expected to play in it.
According to a report in Indian Express, the board is considering smaller venues to conduct the matches so that they can attract bigger crowds. It would be more of an experiment taken by the board before they plan to bring the Women’s IPL on board within the next three years.
Earlier Vinod Rai, chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators, had said that India aims to launch a women’s edition of the Indian Premier League in the next ‘two-three’ years.
A BCCI official who did not wish to be named, told the IE: “It’s important to have continuity. The exhibition game was just a start. We agree to the fact that we could have planned it better which we will do from next season.
There were various reasons for the stadium being near-empty (a 2.30 pm start at the height of summer being the main one) but we are hopeful that slowly the popularity will increase. That is why we are now mulling a 3-4 team women’s league from next year in smaller centres. Smaller cities like Baroda, have seen a great turnout for women’s games generally,”
When it comes to the Women’s IPL, another major challenge that the BCCI is likely to face is that the women’s IPL won’t have a big pool of players suited for the shortest format that will form teams. They will begin the process for that soon.
Pressure for a women’s IPL has been building since India reached the final of the women’s World Cup in England last year.
The exhibition match this week, featuring some of the top names in international cricket, turned out to be a last-over thriller, and despite the low attendance due to timing and logistics, the match was given a thumb up.
