Has the time come for the women's IPL?
Women's cricket has reached different heights recently, growing in leaps and bounds. The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2017 was a real success, and it attracted a packed house for the final between India and England at the home of cricket, Lord's
There were doubts about the ICC Women's World Twenty20, as to whether it would succeed as a standalone tournament. However, it did not disappoint.
Women cricketers are now groing in stature and being talked about in cricketing circles. They are also being followed around the world. More and more women matches are now being broadcasted, featuring some of the most respected commentators in international cricket. The landscape of women's cricket has completely changed in the last few years.
After the tremendous success of the Women's Big Bash League and the Kia Super League, talks have been going on about starting a women's version of yhe IPL. The question is, do we have good enough women players in domestic cricket to begin a cash-rich league? Do we have the finance to rope in broadcasters and players from around the world? And, most importantly, will we have good enough matches to attract crowds?
The questions are plenty, but the answer lies in the beginning. We need to begin at some point. The same questions were asked before the men's IPL came into existence. Who would have thought that it would change the entire landscape of Indian cricket?
The BCCI is holding back simply because it fears the loss of funds owing to empty stadiums and lack of interest from broadcasters to cover the matches. Its fear is justified too. Indian women matches do not get full houses like the women matches in England and Australia do.
Although, Indian women have made significant progress, they are still some distance behind the likes of Australians and Kiwis, as far as their power game and fielding standards are concerned.
Not more than three ads were shown during the commercial breaks in the Women's World T20 last year. Roughly about 200 spectators turned up for the ODI match between India and England in Mumbai last month. These are things to ponder over.
No doubt, a tournament like IPL will allow women to grow tremendously when they rub shoulders with the best in the world. However, the Indian women domestic circuit still does not produce players good enough set the world on fire in a T20 league as big as the IPL. There is the talent and there is a future but maybe, not at this point in time.
Indian women's cricket is currently where the men's cricket was several years ago. India women don't chase as good as some of the best teams in the world; they lack power game, their fielding standards are not the best and obviously, they love to play with spin.
Some would argue these things will improve significantly once the women's IPL kicks off just as they did when the Men's IPL began. It should allow the world to notice some talented youngsters. It will also allow them to improve their game under pressure. Yes, these things can happen when the tournament starts. But do we have resources to even start? Perhaps not.
Indian women have still got a lot to work to do. A huge investment by the BCCI can be a waste if the tournament does not deliver the goods. A women's IPL is a wonderful idea for the development of women's cricket in India and its creation is inevitable. But, maybe it's still three to four years away.
But who knows, BCCI might just surprise us and start it sooner.