Former Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi thinks having a women’s team owned by the existing franchises will boost the women’s version of the tournament.
The biggest T20 league in the world, Indian Premier League, is all set to have a full-fledged tournament for women from next year. The demand for the women’s IPL has been growing within the cricketing fraternity and from fans in the last few years. The voices have been finally heard as the Board of Control for Cricket in India is set to launch the league from 2023.
The BCCI has organised the mini IPL – Women’s T20 Challenge for seasons since 2018 – with only three teams and a total of four matches in the competition. That will change now as the board secretary Jay Shah has assured that the inaugural edition of the women’s IPL will be the priority for the board and they will do everything to make it happen in 2023.
The former Premier League chair Modi has his say on the much awaited tournament, saying it will be a big boost for women’s cricket. He added that the existing IPL franchises owning the women’s team would be more beneficial for the league.
“I think one of the biggest things they should do is make it mandatory for an IPL franchise to have a women’s team.
“If an IPL franchise owner is able to have a women’s team, you’ll see the bench strength in Indian women’s cricket go up. You’ll see investment in women’s cricket by owners who are already making good money now. Amazing step. It’s a big boost to the women’s game and I am really glad,”
he told NDTV.
Recently, the IPL raised eyebrows for the mind-boggling prices the media rights were sold for, becoming one of the most expensive sporting leagues in the world. The BCCI secured an insane price of over INR 48000 crore for IPL media rights for the 2023-27 period.
Meanwhile, the Indian women’s team is scheduled to tour Sri Lanka for three T20 internationals, followed by three ODIs. The series will kick start from June 23.
