BCCI approves women's IPL, first edition to be staged in 2023
BCCI gave approval to conduct Women's IPL from next year.
In a historic decision, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday (October 18) gave approval to the Women's Indian Premier League (IPL). The tournament is all set to be conducted from 2023 after the official green light from the Indian cricket board. The tournament which has been under consideration for a long time now is all set to shape up next year.
BCCI held its 91st Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Mumbai where former India all-rounder Roger Binny officially replaced Sourav Ganguly as the new president of the board. The new team of BCCI office-bearers also formally took charge in the meeting where several key decisions were made.
“The General Body approved to conduct the Women’s Indian Premier League,” BCCI said in a release after the AGM.
Five teams will be part of the competition to start with and a decision on how the teams will be sold has not been made yet. The five teams can be picked zone-wise or on the basis of individual cities like in the men's IPL. The tournament is likely to be held in March next year after the Women's T20 World Cup.
As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, each team will have a roster of 18 players and will be allowed to pick a maximum of only six overseas players in their squad. However, unlike the men's IP where not more than four foreigners are allowed in the playing XI, five overseas players can be part of the playing XI in the Women's IPL.
The BCCI has reportedly also made it mandatory for each team in the Women's IPL to have at least one overseas player from an associate nation. The tournament is likely to have a total of 22 matches and the final call on the schedule and venue will be taken later.
BCCI had earlier written to all state associations informing that the first edition of the Women's IPL will consist of five teams.“To have a well balance of domestic & international players and to have competitive teams, it has been tentatively decided to have five teams for WIPL. Each team can comprise maximum of eighteen players where no team can have more than six overseas players,” the board had said, as per PTI.