BCCI have done a good thing by starting the women's IPL: Jemimah Rodrigues
Indian batswoman Jemimah Rodrigues has stated that the BCCI have done a good thing by starting the women's IPL, adding that they now understand the impact that the tournament could have on Indian women's cricket.
The Indian women's team have been performing well in ICC tournaments but have not been able to win that elusive title, crashing out in the semi-finals and the finals.
Jemimah Rodrigues believes that the women's IPL could give Indian players the much-needed experience of playing under pressure against quality opposition. This would go a long way in developing the women's game in India and will subsequently help the players take that one extra step to glory.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, the 19-year-old said:
"The BCCI have done a good thing by starting the women's IPL. They have understood the importance for us to play the IPL because that is going to help us. As I said you need to deliver under pressure and women's IPL is one of the best ways to get that experience how to handle pressure, how to play in front of the crowd, under the lights, in front of the opposition."
She added:
"You get good quality games and then international cricket comes afterward. But there is a lot of gap between games and when you play the IPL you get to develop a different level of standard that you get . When you play international cricket you already have so much experience that is going to help your team get better."
Looking forward to playing Women's T20 Challenge: Jemimah Rodrigues
The Women's T20 Challenge was supposed to be a four-team affair but due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was postponed indefinitely.
However, it has now been decided that the Women's T20 Challenge will remain a three-team affair and will be played from November 1 to November 10.
Speaking of the tournament, Jemimah Rodrigues said:
"So there were plans this year that we would have a proper IPL, at least four to five teams this year but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we couldn't help it. So now we will be playing the exhibition games in the UAE so yes looking forward to that."
Jemimah Rodrigues has so far scored 930 runs in her T20I career at an average of 27.35 and has 6 half-centuries to her name. She believes that the women's IPL will go a long way in unearthing raw Indian talent which will only make the Indian women's team stronger.