Sourav Ganguly, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has stated that the board plans to start a full-fledged women's Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2023. From the 2022 season onwards, the BCCI will host the men's edition of the IPL, which is one of the largest T20 tournaments in the world and will feature a total of ten teams.
The BCCI also hosts the Women's T20 Challenge, which features three teams from around the world. The Women's T20 Challenge isn't a full-fledged competition; it only features a few matches amongst the three teams. Despite hosting the IPL in two phases in India and the UAE, the BCCI did not organise it last year.
With requests for a full-fledged women's IPL becoming louder, BCCI president Ganguly stated the board is in the process of arranging to launch the league in 2023. The women's IPL, according to Ganguly, will be just as large and great a success as the men's IPL.
"We are at the level of formulation to have a full-fledged WIPL. It is certainly going to happen. I strongly believe that next year i.e. 2023 will be a very good time to start a full-fledged women's IPL which will be as big and grand a success as the men's IPL," Ganguly says thus.
The Women's Big Bash League is organised with the men's edition of the event by Cricket Australia, whereas the Women's Hundred competition was organised alongside the Men's Hundred edition last year by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Both the Australian and English tournaments included a handful of Indian women's team stars.
Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, and other members of the Indian women's squad have frequently emphasised the significance of a women's IPL for the development of the women's game in India. This year, the board will also host the Women's T20 Challenge, which will take place during the IPL 2022 finals, according to Ganguly.
“The Women’s T20 Challenge will again be back this year in the month of May. Hopefully, in the future, we will be able to host a bigger women’s IPL once the number of women players goes up. But this year, the Women’s T20 Challenge will happen during the IPL playoffs,” says the BCCI president, as quoted by Sportstar.
