“It's significant that many of our players are getting an opportunity in WBBL” - Saba Karim

Former Indian wicket-keeper Saba Karim opined that more female cricketers from the country taking part in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) is a significant development.

Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav and Richa Ghosh are the seven Indian cricketers who will be taking part in the upcoming edition of the Big Bash League (WBBL).

Describing the BBL as a highly competitive tournament, Karim stated that playing the T20 league in Australia will help the Indian players improve their skills. Karim admitted during a media interaction organized by Sony:

“This is significant from India’s perspective for many of our players are getting an opportunity to play in the (Women’s) Big Bash League (WBBL). That is a highly competitive tournament and the kind of feedback we have received in the past 2-3 years, whenever these girls have participated there, and come back... There are many learnings for all these girls from India."

Adding that a women’s IPL is definitely in the offing, Karim opined that having a strong domestic structure is more crucial. Karim explained:

“Going forward, yes, the BCCI will be looking at organising women’s IPL but I also feel that it is more important to have a stronger domestic structure so that it keeps throwing up younger talent who can play at that level. And, I mean why men’s IPL was a success because the kind of structure the kind of talent that was coming up from the, from the domestic level. And I think a similar kind of thing needs to take place for women's cricket also."

Many cricketers, experts and fans have suggested that India’s performance in close matches could improve if they take part in a competitive tournament like the IPL.

Playing in foreign leagues definitely helps: Saba Karim

While active Indian male players are no longer allowed to take part in foreign T20 leagues, overseas cricketers are a big hit in the IPL. Karim agrees that playing in foreign T20 leagues makes a lot of difference. Karim said:

“Yeah, in a big way (playing foreign leagues helps). But one should not forget that the BCCI has a very strong domestic structure at this stage. From here, a number of players have come up and have got an opportunity to play for the national side."

The 53-year-old further pointed out:

“Most of the global T20 leagues are very keen on getting Indian players for their respective sides, not only in Australia but even in The Hundred. Before that, if I remember correctly, they used to have a Super League kind of a tournament in England and so many of our players have participated. That definitely helps in the growth of Indian cricket and to make our national side far more competitive and bring in more quality.”

The 2021 edition of the IPL is currently underway in the UAE and will conclude with the final on October 15 in Dubai.