- PSL 2023 Scenario: How can Karachi and Quetta Qualify for Playoffs? - March 7, 2023
- Bismah Maroof – Pakistan Women’s Most Successful Captain - March 3, 2023
- PSL 8: Match Officials, Commentary Panel and Broadcast Territories announced - February 8, 2023
Two of the big Asian cricket boards, India’s BCCI and Pakistan’s PCB, have been eyeing to launch a league tournament for women’s cricket based on their successful ongoing franchise cricket. Recently, we have seen the Women’s league IPL is getting heavy attention lately and PCB chairman Rameez Raja was also keen to launch the women’s edition of PSL.
Both cricket boards have their own views on the leagues that are yet to be completed and launched. Let’s see what each of the respective boards have to say about this.
Women’s League: PSL
The chairman of PCB says that he wants Pakistan to be the first Asian board to launch a T20 league of women. There has never been a women’s Asian league competition. Outside Asia there was the Women’s Big Bash League and English cricket. Pakistan’s counterparts India have been successful in getting to play other leagues.
As Pakistan women haven’t really gotten their names big in the world and their cricket standard has not been up to par, Rameez Raja believes that they can help out Women’s cricket in the country by bringing in big stars from around the world and helping them grow.
“We talked about [improving the] pathways to professional cricket. In October next year, we’ll launch an U19 PSL. This is very exciting because it’s never happened anywhere else. England will send their U19 players, who we’ll look after. I also have the women’s PSL in my mind. We’ll become the first cricket board in Asia to launch that.” – Rameez Raja
Check out: IPL 2022 in UAE or in India?
Along with the chairman was the former PAK-W captain Sana Mir, who also showed interest in this idea. She said that it will be a great way to introduce cricket to different countries and so many people can gain from a women’s PSL such as commentators and Umpires.
Another former Women’s Cricketer Nain Abidi, PAK-W’s first WODI centurion, praised Rameez’s idea. She tweeted on her Twitter on this idea:
Women’s League: IPL
There is a mini-IPL style women’s IPL cricket called the “Women’s T20 Challenge” which was introduced in 2018. Three teams compete in the competition, namely “IPL Trailblazers,” “IPL Supernovas,” and “IPL Velocity.”
In late 2020, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly wanted to expand the teams to eight in 2022. However, due to the global pandemic of covid-19, things never really got going for the Women’s T20 Challenge. The tournament briefly ended in 2020.
Since then, top Indian women’s cricketers such as Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues and Poonam Yadav have played the WBBL and found some success. Harmanpreet Kaur was excellent in the WBBL, earning the Player of the Tournament award.
This has been an exception for the players selected and hence, the BCCI has been looking to bring in Women’s IPL. Indian players are exploding a bomb in overseas and it is believed that the time is right for the female’s tournament.
“It’s high time we do this because – leave aside all other aspects, like business, viability, the commercial side of it – really, with just the kind of talent and following, it [WIPL] needs to be wholeheartedly supported.” – Venky Mysore, the CEO of the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders
Also Read:
