- Friday, April 19, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
FRANCHISE cricket has done women’s cricket a world of good and a full-fledged Indian Premier League (IPL) is the “next step” for its growth, New Zealand captain Sophie Devine feels.
While a women’s IPL is still not a reality, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hosts a brief three-team women’s competition along with the lucrative men’s IPL which is set to expand to include two more teams in the 2022 edition to become a 10-team affair.
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Devine, a leading all-rounder in women’s cricket, cited the success of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) in Australia and the impact it has made, Reuters reported.
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Speaking at an event to mark the beginning of live crickets-streaming on Amazon Prime Video from January 1, Devine said, “The success of the WBBL in Australia has been enormous in raising the profile, and the standard of cricket as well has certainly improved.”
“I’d love to see a woman’s IPL kick off. I think it’s certainly the next step in growing the game globally for the women side of things,” the 32-year-old who has more than 5,000 runs and 170 wickets in international cricket, said.
“So fingers crossed and in the next few years, there might be something on the cards,” she added.
Other White Fern cricketers such as Suzie Bates and Amelia Kerr also seconded Devine’s thoughts.
Bates, who feels franchise cricket had “drastically” transformed the women’s game, said, “Any franchise opportunities supporting the international game is the key for the game growing and India is the next big step in my opinion after the success of the WBBL and The Hundred competition in England.”
Kerr, who has played the women’s competition in India, said, “They’ve started with a few exhibition matches but we speak of the passion and the love for the game that India has and how successful the men’s IPL is.
“I think a woman’s IPL would be incredible,” the 21-year-old all-rounder said.
Recently, leading Indian women cricketers such as Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur have also batted for a women’s IPL.
