4 factors why women's IPL should be launched

India’s women cricket has seen a massive upswing since their inspirational performances in the 2017 ICC World Cup. The girls became household names by their spirited performances in key ICC tournaments.

The impressive performances saw a much-needed spike in interest levels in women’s cricket. India’s star women cricketers since then have bagged lucrative contracts in T20 Leagues in England and Australia.

In the ongoing World T20 2018, India has been on a roll winning all of their group league, matches eventually becoming the table-toppers of their group and making their way into the semi-finals. One of the unique features in each of these matches is the contribution of every single player of the team in one or the other match.

It has been an all-round complete team performance by the girls so far, reaffirming their position as strong contenders and favourites to win the trophy.

There has been a sharp contrast change in perception the way women cricket is looked at in India since the last 2-3 years where performances have started to get noticed with quite a few eyeballs raised and has also witnessed some jaw-dropping moments.

Such remarkable wins by the Women in Blue have caught the attention of the audience, thereby acting as a sharp indicator of the overall development of women’s cricket safeguarding the interest of the cricketers.

India’s women cricket has reached a tipping point where baby steps taken to boost women’s cricket can go a long way in shaping the future of women’s cricket. IPL did not become an overnight success. The time has arrived to kick-start a revolution for the rise of women’s cricket in the form of launching Women’s IPL.

Here is a detailed analysis of the factors that state why women’s Indian Premier League(IPL) should be launched in India which will have lasting impacts on the women's cricket.

#1 Rising interest levels in women’s cricket

India's New Shining Stars

The consistent performances by Indian girls in major ICC events have drawn the attention of the audiences all around the world. The 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup was witnessed by over 180 million people around the world through various social media channels. This proves the fact that there has been an upward trend in general interest levels and a change in attitude towards women cricket among the cricket audience.

The girls have made the world look up and keep a track of the results through their aesthetic display of performances in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2018. This rousing interest can be capitalized upon by the administrators of the game acting as a launchpad for start of a new era in women’s cricket in the form of IPL that will benefit both the target audience as well as the players.

Star players like Smriti Mandhana, Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jhulan Goswami, Jemimah Rodrigues etc can act as star performers for each respective franchise teams that could include big international names of women cricket.

#2 Impressive performances by cricket team in ICC events

Generation of fearless young cricketers will be created

The performance of the girls in key ICC Tournaments has been very impressive. The girls have shown the hunger to perform in major high pressure matches winning accolades for the country. The performances of the team in 2017 ICC World Cup, Asia Cup & 2018 ICC World T20 have won millions of hearts.

This is a major indicator of the fact that the team is ready to pull their socks up for one of the grand tournaments like the IPL. They have put forth deserving performances to start a home T20 tournament.

Further, the launching of Women’s IPL will definitely help in creating a generation of fearless & aggressive women cricketers. Getting an opportunity to rub off shoulders with star international cricketers can take off any youngster’s career.

It can act as an ideal platform for nurturing young talent and creating a brand of young fearless stroke players. The transition from domestic level to international level of a young rookie player will be faster and smoother when they get to play in competitive tournaments like the IPL. IPL can certainly help in unearthing unknown talents.

#3 Top of Mind Awareness of IPL

Women's IPL can be a boon for Women's Cricket

The Top of Mind Awareness of IPL in the minds of the people is an excellent opportunity for BCCI to launch women's IPL. IPL has emerged as a brand in the Indian audience. This mindset can be capitalized upon by the organizing body. It will also benefit the girls on a large scale.

The IPL will provide an ideal platform for young girls to showcase their talents through noticeable performances. IPL has been instrumental platform in making or reviving careers of contemporary male cricketers and has the effective capacity to do the same with women cricketers providing them abundant exposure.

From playing U-19 level to suddenly facing noisy packed crowded stadiums, IPL can help provide crowd exposure and help to develop the mental aspect of young cricketers. The youngsters will be exposed to pressure situations at a very young age which will help them to adapt and calm their nerves in such pressure situations.

# Financial factors

BCCI will play a crucial factor

IPL also acts as a “Cash Cow” for the administrators, generating huge revenues to BCCI and broadcasters of the game. Women’s IPL can help to provide financial security to women cricketers bridging the gap of the pay scale as compared to their contemporary male cricketers.

However, it would not be fair to compare the financial considerations of women’s IPL with that of the IPL as the women’s IPL would be launched on a smaller scale on smaller economical grounds with less number of franchisees involved in it. Advertising campaign and being brand ambassadors can help women cricketers in all-round development.

Given these above factors, Women’s IPL should be launched in India. However focus should also be given to the sustainability of the game and bringing into contention the various parties that play a key role in successful implementation of the IPL such as the broadcasters, investors, sponsors, franchise owners and the most important of them all - the target audience