The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning a six-team women's IPL from next year according to a Cricbuzz report. At a Governing Council (GC) meeting of the Indian Premier League in Mumbai on Friday (March 25), a decision was taken that all efforts will be made to start a six-team annual Twenty20 tournament for women cricketers, with first preference being given for the existing IPL franchises. This year, however, there will be the normal women's Twenty20 challenge.
The Women's T20 Challenge is not a full-fledged tournament and consists of a handful of matches between the three sides. It was not conducted by the BCCI last year despite the board hosting the IPL in two phases in India and the UAE. With calls growing stronger over the start of a full-fledged women's IPL, BCCI president Ganguly has said the board is in the process of planning to start the tournament from 2023. Ganguly believes the women's IPL will be as big and grand 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 was quoted as saying by PTI. The likes of Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues and the other members of the Indian women's team have often spoken about the importance of having a women's IPL for the growth of the women's game in India.
