While the eleventh edition Indian Premier League (IPL) is going to start, Indian women’s cricket future is also needed to give importance. After gaining some brilliant success recently, women cricketers are demanding for their IPL.
After Kerala won the Under-23 T20 women’s National trophy by beating Hyderabad in the final, one of their all-rounders said, “I think women’s cricket should have an IPL, we are ready for it. If the women’s IPL comes, it will surely have two to three players from Kerala. We have been playing well throughout the year. And we have Asha, now playing for the South Zone, who has been picked for the India ‘A’ team. So, our role model is within our team itself.”
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On Wednesday, Mel tod TOI, “I love to see women’s IPL and some of the best players would be in it.”
She brings the example of Women’s Big Bash League in Australia which has been started since 2015/16 season and gradually gaining success.
She said on that, “It got under way three years ago and is already a huge success and gets fantastic support from Cricket Australia. I am sure the women’s IPL would also become a worldwide phenomenon.”
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Mel also praised Cricket Australia (CA), the player’ association and the male cricketers for their contributions to making successful that initiative.
She quoted, “CA and the players’ association are always working together for a better pay structure. They had discussions last year on how to set a structure for female players. There is a lot of contracts now in state and national levels. Issues like improved central contracts wouldn’t have happened without the support of male players.”
Like the previous three seasons, Mel will represent as a commentator in this IPL season too.
Speaking of her IPL experience, Mel shared, “This is going to be my fourth year as commentator for IPL. I can say that the tournament is providing a platform for home-grown talent. It is reflected in recent U19 World Cup success and these players were most sought after in the auction.”
However, Indian women’s Test and ODI captain Mithali Raj has recently said that it may not the right time to begin the women’s IPL. She believes that they have to wait for few more years to get a pool of players for IPL like tournaments.
