Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Alyssa Healy on Wednesday expressed her happiness over the prospect of having a full-fledged women’s Indian Premier League (IPL) next year and said the league will make India an unbeatable side in 10 years’ time.
Last week, at the IPL Governing Council meeting, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) proposed a six-team women’s IPL from 2023. For the current year, there will be a three-team Women’s T20 challenge. ,
“I think the announcement for those competitions is great. I mean, this is exactly where we thought the women’s game needed to go, that (Women’s IPL) was kind of the next step. I mean , we have a really successful WBBL. So it went really well, now in the hundred, there is some thriving domestic competition, so to see the announcement of IPL to be able to develop the game especially in India Unbelievable,” Healy said in a post-match virtual press conference after Australia defeated the West Indies to reach the final of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
Talking about how the creation of the women’s IPL will help Indian cricketers, Healy, who performed for the Trailblazers in the Women’s T20 Challenge in 2018, commented, “It’s such an untapped market that I look forward to for women. I feel in the game. Surely with so many, they are going to be unbeatable in 10 years’ time. I think I think what these amazing women can do, I think they really needed a kind of leg up in that home setup. So yeah, it’s really exciting.”
With the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), The Hundred and now the upcoming Women’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) taking place in the women’s cricket calendar, scheduling will come with challenges that Healy is fully aware of.
“It (Women’s IPL) was the next step and scheduling is going to come into play. Obviously, I’m not 100% sure what that looks like, but we have to work on it. With the increase in international cricket, whether international players will be available for all domestic competitions or whether these domestic leagues will be noticed or not, I am not 100 per cent sure.
“But first and foremost he is being talked about, hopefully see him off the field and if he wants to start better at the 32- to 33-year-old who is behind the stumps. There may be a slight sizzle. I’m available,” concluded Healy.
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