BCCI has proposed in its Governing Council held on March 25 in Mumbai that the Board will do everything necessary to commence the Women’s IPL from 2023 either alongside the traditional Men’s IPL, if feasible, or the Board will look for an alternative window to schedule the tournament.
Women’s IPL 2023, if held, will be a six-team tournament, where the existing franchises would be given preference to claim the ownership of a team before the Board invites other interested parties into the fray.
The Governing Council has highlighted that the demand for Women’s IPL is growing day by day, and many sponsors are willing to offer lucrative offers to the wealthiest cricket board in the world.
BCCI has been criticised for many years for ignoring the potential of Women’s cricket and only focusing on the cash-rich traditional IPL held every year for men’s cricketers.
However, the growing discontent among the general public and media has led the Governing Council to ponder upon the decision of giving the green light to Women’s IPL from 2023.
There was also a lot of pressure on BCCI to begin Women’s IPL due to other cricketing boards such as the West Indies Cricket Board and PCB announcing their intentions of organising a Women’s T20 tournament.
The proposed plan is still to be discussed in the Annual General Meeting supposed to be held in December 2022. At AGM, all the pros and cons of the IPL for female cricketers will be evaluated to reach a consensus on whether the proposed tournament shall begin in 2023 or not.
However, this year, the four exhibition T20s return after a gap of one year. Three women T20 teams will play four matches against each other while the Tata IPL 2022 will be in its playoff stage.
Also read: IPL 2022: 3 Favourite Teams Who Can Win The IPL Trophy