A new women’s-specific Twenty20 cricket league is to launch in India next week, it has been announced.
The Women’s Cricket League (WCL) will seek to raise the profile of the women’s game in India and will launch on March 8 to coincide with International Women’s Day.
The competition will aim to replicate the success of the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia and the Women’s Super League in England.
WCL founder Parul Jain said: “It's important that young girls coming through can see cricket as a viable option to play at the highest level. The WCL T20 League is expected to be of the same repute as the Indian Premier League and Women's Big Bash League of Australia in support of women. This will lead to greater interest in women's cricket in India, which has generally been given much less importance than the men's sport.”
It is hoped the WCL will give exposure for women’s cricket in India and provide it with a platform for further growth, as well as produce a pool of players to play at national and international levels.
Jain added: “It is time India has leagues like Women Big Bash Cricket League, Australia, or Women’s Cricket Super League, London. WCL should have started earlier, but it's better late than never. I am more than optimistic that WCL will take Indian women’s cricket beyond boundaries and get them long due international name and fame that they deserved.”
