To garner wider audience for women's cricket, and to make cricket a viable career choice for the country's players, Cricket Australia initiated the WBBL in 2015, on similar lines to the men's tournament. Taking the cue, and going by the reception WBBL received in its inaugural year, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) too rolled out a league of their own Women's Super League, due to kickstart in July 2016. India women cricketers, who were notable absentees from WBBL Season 1, had many foreign players advocating for their attendance in the upcoming English league at the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 but the then BCCI management failed to take a timely decision.
Mithali Raj, Indian Women's team captain, has praised the new regime's efforts in clearing the way for her team. "It is a good decision because the girls getting an opportunity to be a part of these foreign leagues will give them loads of experience in terms of playing in different conditions as well as playing with players from different countries," Raj told Cricbuzz on Friday (June 3).
"There will be a cross mixture of cultures since they will be sharing the dressing rooms with players, and they will gain more knowledge about the game. That will enhance their personal game also," she added.
Veda Krishnamurthy, India's destructive middle-order batter, too echoed her captain's sentiments. "It's a great initiative by the board. If you look at it, Women's Super League and (Women's) Big Bash (League) is already one year old now. The Big Bash was a great success there. It will be a great exposure for us to go and play with other international cricketers in the same team. We'll get to learn a lot of things. It will be nice if we do get the opportunity to go and play," she said.
CA and ECB will have to get in touch with the Indian board, through which the contracts will be channelized, for availing the services of the Indian cricketers for their domestic leagues.
A little too late?
While the decision is being lauded for it is a step-up for the women's game, the timing - more than a month after the deadline for nominating the players for WSL - could have been a little better. Given that the 50-over World Cup is slated to be held in England next year, it goes without saying that the Indian board should have been proactive when the ECB came calling for nominations earlier this year.
After a failed bid to win their maiden World T20 title, despite home advantage, any and every kind of opportunity to gain exposure to the English conditions should have been welcomed. Instead, the board let it slip.
Raj, however, insists that BCCI's initiative should be taken in a positive light and that their absence from the first season of WSL will have no bearing on their World Cup chances next year. "It would have been good, but then again since we have travelled to England so many times, I don't think it would make such a huge impact. But yes, the exposure would have definitely made a difference."
Krishnamurthy, though, puts forward a pragmatic view. Like seen in the men's leagues, the franchises only look to plug the gaps left after the preceding season, which would mean the opportunities would be limited for the Indian players in the seasons to follow.
"What will happen now is that say an ECB or Cricket Australia will come up with a list of players they are interested in. By then, they will have their players in mind in terms of who they want. This time around, or the next year, they'll be looking to add to their (already existing) team. They know how their team looks now, it will only be according to their requirements, which player will fit in," Krishnamurthy said.
The fact that the teams have already been shaped up leaves limited seats for the Indians but at the same time intensifies the competition within this group. At the receiving end could be players like Shikha Pandey and Krishnamurthy - immensely talented but, probably, not the first-choice overseas recruits for teams that would want to stick with an experienced group. Harmanpreet Kaur, India vice-captain, for her natural hard-hitting instincts or Smriti Mandhana, whose exploits in Australia earlier this year helped India stun the hosts in their own backyard, could top the franchise's lists apart from the two usual suspects Raj and bowling all-rounder Jhulan Goswami.
The Indian captain, however, believes, similar to the men's competition, this too could throw up surprises. "The franchise will be reviewing things, I hope. Maybe the coming season, you never know, with the T20 World Cup and a lot more otherwise happening in women's cricket, they might also be looking into players who can make that difference (instead of just senior players)."
The hurdle
India's own domestic season which starts around November becomes one of the most obvious obstacles. While the scheduling of Super League, in July-August, would allow the Indian stars to venture out and gain some much-needed exposure in English conditions, the WBBL, due in December-January, clashes with India's domestic season. During the inaugural edition of WBBL, Cricket Australia had shown keen interest in Raj and Goswami, but if reports are to be believed, the senior duo were denied permission by their domestic teams to head to Australia.
Will India's domestic season, and more importantly, teams allow players to participate this time given the invitation is now being backed by the board itself? Raj hopes things would be clearer by the time the second season of WBBL is due. "It is very difficult to come to a conclusion right now because there are so many procedures that go along with this. Even BCCI has contracted players, so there could be different rules. But hopefully everything gets clear once things start get rolling for us this season."
Krishnamurthy thinks the timing of BCCI's decision has given the state associations enough of a heads-up to be prepared for the eventuality. "Maybe at that time, since it was a new thing for the state associations too, they were not aware of it, I think. Now that this has happened months before the domestic season gets underway, it will give them time to think about it."
What needs to be done for a Women's IPL?
Raj hopes for one but Krishnamurthy insists that till the Indians have something of their own, it is paramount that they put up a performance that leaves BCCI with very little choice.
"For that to happen, we will have to do really well in the coming series, for BCCI to take notice and come up with an individual tournament for us. It will be a great, great initiative.
"See, the problem right now is that the girls don't have enough exposure. You gain experience by playing more matches. The more matches you play, the more you learn. If you see the men's IPL also, the first season, it was all very new. And how well they have picked it up over the years," Krishnamurthy observed.
Anjum Chopra, former Indian captain, while speaking to Cricbuzz on the sidelines of the IPL, too wanted the current crop of cricketers to raise the standard of their game so that the board is compelled to give the players a free hand.
"When we say that we are missing out on the opportunities, we have to realise that we are probably not at the same level as those (Australian or England) players are maybe. We have to reach a level, our homework has to be so strong, that those franchises feel that they need the Indian players because they add value. So, (the players will have to) make themselves so good, you raise the bar so high, that any league happening any part of the world feels we can't run the show without them. And for that you will have to perform consistently at the international level and to perform there, your homework back home has to be very strong."
While the participation in foreign leagues is a new beginning for the players, who are yet unsure of how the procedures will pan out, it remains to be seen if the BCCI will step in, if required, to ensure that the cricketers, if invited, are given the liberty to make a choice for themselves.
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