Women’s cricket in India still has a long way to go. The BCCI took one of the major steps for the development of the game for Women when they announced the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League featuring 5 franchises. The WPL is actually a revamped and a better version of the Women’s T20 challenge which began in 2018.
The initial bidding process to acquire franchises saw 5 different business conglomerates invest a combined amount of 4992 Crore INR, which was even higher than the Men’s IPL. At the auction table too, all the franchises including (Delhi Capitals Women, RCB Women, Gujarat Giants, UP Warriorz and Mumbai Indians Women) bid aggressively to bag some of the world’s best players.
Not only will the league change the lives of countless young Women cricketers but it will also leave the door open for many veterans to stage their international comeback for India. This is what experienced Indian Leg-spinner Poonam Yadav had to say after the advent of Women’s Premier League.
The UP born Leg-spinner made her senior debut for India in 2013 but her last appearance as a Blue was back in 2022 against Bangladesh. In the first ever WPL Auction, Poonam Yadav was picked by Delhi Capitals franchise for 30 Lakhs INR for her seasoned experience and numbers in WT20Is.
The 31-year-old has 98 wickets in 72 International appearances and DC after bagging her services will be hoping to utilize her experience in the best way possible under the captaincy of 5-time WT20I Champions Meg Lanning.
“The experienced players can utilize the WPL as a platform to make a comeback and the youngsters will get a chance to showcase their talent in the tournament.”
The inaugural WPL will begin from 4th March onwards with Gujarat Giants taking on Mumbai Indians Women at the DY Patil Stadium.
