Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the schedule for their upcoming Sr. Women's T20 trophy which is slated to kick off on April 12. Six venues have been chosen, with each of the five elite pools set to host six teams each from April 15-24. The plate pool will have seven teams and play their matches between April 12-24.
Pondicherry, Trivandrum, and Rajkot will host the elite A, B and C pools of the tournament. Mohali, Ranchi and Guwahati have been chosen to hold the elite D, E and the plate pool matches.
Surat will host the knockout stage of the tournament, which is set to begin on April 25. The final has been scheduled for May 4. All teams will be expected to arrive at their respective venues with negative RT-PCR tests, and although there is no mandatory quarantine, a bio bubble is expected to be maintained by the tournament's organisers.
Last month, the India women's cricket team had a topsy-turvy time at the ICC Women's World Cup in New Zealand. They were eliminated by South Africa in a last-ball thriller of their final group stage match. Many of their main players underperformed including skipper Mithali Raj, opener Shafai Verama and others. These players will hope to build their confidence back up in the upcoming tournament.
Another positive for women's cricket were the talks of a women's IPL competition, which is touted to take place in 2023. The BCCI is planning to have five to six teams in the inaugural edition of the tournament, given the success of India's women players in foreign-based T20 tournaments like the Women's Big Bash league, England's Super League and the Hundred.
According to reports, at least four IPL franchises in the men's category are interested in the BCCI's plans for what people are now calling the WIPL.
"It [the full-fledged women's IPL] has to be approved by the AGM. We plan to start it by next year hopefully," BCCI president Sourav Ganguly told reporters after the IPL governing council meeting in Mumbai.
