BCCI secretary Jay Shah discloses plan for Women's IPL, says it's 'very close to my heart'
BCCI secretary Jay Shah has called the Women's IPL tournament, very close to his heart, while disclosing plans about organizing the tournament in future.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah has made many notable admissions while speaking about the Women’s IPL tournament, which is scheduled to be held starting in 2023. Speaking in an interview with PTI, Shah revealed that the ambitious project is very close to his heart, and about the maiden edition of the tournament will feature about five to six teams. It is pertinent to mention that BCCI organized the second edition of the Women’s T20 challenge this year, during the playoffs stage of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
Meanwhile, on being asked about the blueprint of the women’s IPL, Shah said, “This is a project which is very close to my heart. We will start with either five or six teams in the first edition. I am thrilled at the kind of response we have got from stakeholders. Multiple existing IPL teams have enquired and expressed serious interest in owning WIPL franchises”.
Foreign cricket boards interested in Women's IPL
The prestigious men's IPL tournament became the second most valued sporting league in the world in terms of match value, after the e-auction for the media rights of the tournament for the next five years, (2023-27) concluded on Tuesday. The winning bid for the media rights was worth a total of INR 48390, which hints at the possibility of the WIPL gaining similar fame. In the meantime, during the interview with PTI, Shah also revealed that even overseas cricket boards are interested in the women’s edition of the IPL.
“Not to forget interest from outside. We are in discussions with other Boards about the possible window when all top cricketers will be available. I can promise that the valuation of the league, franchises and media rights will stun one and all,” the BCCI secretary added.
The Women’s T20 challenge 2022 featured three teams, i.e., the Supernovas, Trailblazers, and Velocity locking horns against each other in the tournament, which featured a total of six group stage matches in the round-robin format, followed by the summit clash. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Supernovas won the Women’s T20 challenge 2022 after finishing the group stage as the table toppers and defeating Deepti Sharma’s Velocity by four runs in the final.
(Image: iplt20.com/BCCI)
Published By : Jigyanshushri Mahanta
Published On: 15 June 2022 at 08:42 IST