The inaugural champions, Rajasthan Royals, have hinted towards owning a team in the Women's Indian Premier League. After years of complementation, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has finally decided to kickstart the Women's IPL from the following year.
A few days back, BCCI president Saurav Ganguly revealed that the board is looking at the logistics and is scheduled to arrange the tournament.
Reacting to the announcement, Rajasthan Royals CEO Jake Lush McCrum mentioned that the franchise is interested in expanding, and owning a team in the Women's IPL is the perfect way to do so.
"We'd love to have a women's IPL team when it launches next year. We're definitely very interested in expanding our franchise base. I'm so excited about the growth of women's cricket in India and around the world," Jake Lush McCrum said as quoted by Wisden India.
The CEO is also hopeful that Women's IPL is encouraging more and more females to take up the sport. He cited the examples of the Big Bash League and The Hundred to explain the impact the tournament will have in the country. As of now, BCCI hosts the Women's T20 Challenge, which features just three teams and runs parallel to Men's IPL.
"We've seen in Australia the amount of investment they've put in and the impact that's had on the game, and on the fanbase, the following, the grassroots cricket. In England last year, I think the biggest success of The Hundred was women's cricket. The amount of fans coming in to watch the women's cricket match, the number of girls playing cricket that summer, it's awesome," the RR CEO added.
Further, in the interaction, the RR official admitted that the growth of Women's cricket in India has been phenomenal for the past few years, and the IPL will only give a much-needed push.
"In India, the growth of participants in the women's game has been significant, and I think a women's IPL would take it to the next level. Because it would make parents and families around the world see that it is a viable career option. It is an amazing sport, and we want everyone to be a part of it," Jake concluded.