"A women's IPL should be top priority now" - Michael Vaughan's message to BCCI president Sourav Ganguly 

The fourth edition of the Women's T20 Challenge will be contested during the playoffs of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2022), following a one-year hiatus. The three-team competition was not held last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, former England captain Michael Vaughan wants the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to prioritize a women's IPL. The cricketer-turned-commentator has encouraged BCCI president Sourav Ganguly to work on establishing a full-fledged franchise-based tournament for women's cricket.

Vaughan wrote on Twitter:

"A Women's #IPL should be top priority now @SGanguly9 !! Let’s get it sorted..."

Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja is also keen to conduct Asia's first women's franchise-based cricket league. In a video shared by the board on their social media handles last year, Raja had mentioned that he looks forward to launching the Women's Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the near future.

"The Women’s T20 Challenge will happen during the IPL playoffs" - BCCI president Sourav Ganguly

Ganguly recently confirmed that the Indian board will host the Women's T20 Challenge this year during the IPL 2022 playoffs. In an interview with Sportstar, he stated that a bigger women's IPL could take place in the future, once the number of women players increases. Ganguly said:

“The Women’s T20 Challenge will again be back this year in the month of May. Hopefully, in the future, we will be able to host a bigger women’s IPL once the number of women players goes up. But this year, the Women’s T20 Challenge will happen during the IPL playoffs."

The previous edition of the Women's T20 Challenge took place in 2020, in which three teams battled it out for the ultimate championship in the round-robin tournament. The next season of the T20 tournament will be played in May.