Women's cricket awaits birth of a superpower with game set to take off in India

NEW DELHI: Women's cricket looks poised to step out of the imposing shadow of the men's game in India, and the rest of the world is bracing for the birth of a superpower in the sport. While male players have long enjoyed rock star status in the cricket-mad country, their female counterparts have had to fight hard to be taken seriously. Their struggle has finally started yielding results, however, and 15 years after the launch of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a full-fledged women's T20 tournament will get underway in March. Crucially, corporate India has seen financial sense in investing in the Women's Premier League (WPL). The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already pocketed nearly $690 million from the sales of franchises and media rights, with the revenue flow to be boosted further when a title sponsor comes on board later this month. India captain Harmanpreet Kaur called the league a "game changer" for women's cricket in the country, building on the growing enthusiasm for the female game among Indian fans. That enthusiasm was evident in the home T20 series against Australia in December, which the tourists won 4-1. The opener at the DY Patil Stadium drew over 25,000 spectators, while more than 47,000 turned up for the second match at the same venue on the outskirts of Mumbai. Although Australia have dominated women's cricket for the last two decades, India already have a solid base and won the inaugural Under-19 T20 World Cup in South Africa on Sunday. "It's just the beginning," skipper Shafali Verma said after they beat England in the final in Potchefstroom. "Women's cricket may not become more popular than men's cricket in India, but we certainly can hope to match them." EXCITEMENT AND CONCERNS For the rest of the cricketing world, excitement at the earning potential for leading players in the WPL comes tempered with concerns at a replication of India's already overweening power in the men's game. "There's fear among a lot of players that once the women's IPL starts, India is going to dominate world cricket," Pune-born former Australia captain Lisa Sthalekar told Cricinfo. However, the global governing body of the sport, the International Cricket Council, could not be happier. "India will continue to lead the way with regards to a lot of initiatives around women's cricket," ICC general manager of cricket Wasim Khan told media on Wednesday. "The values that have been brought in for those (WPL) teams just reiterates how valuable and how important women's cricket is and how it's seen by the potential investors." Khan said the WPL would trigger a transformation of the entire women's game over the next few years. "We are very much confident that what's happening in India was a catalyst to try and really drive the game to even greater levels," he added. "The combination of ourselves working with the cricket boards, we certainly believe that in five years' time, the landscape is going to look very, very different." (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Nick Mulvenney and Peter Rutherford)

Women's cricket awaits birth of a superpower with game set to take off in India

DISCOVER MORE

Early Spain setback for coach De la Fuente 'no accident'

Ferguson, Wenger inducted into Premier League Hall of Fame

Germany fail first true post-World Cup test with Euro in sight

Belgium beat Germany 3-2 to pile pressure on Euro 2024 hosts

Canadian teenager McIntosh sets 400m freestyle world record

UAE always feels home: Pakistani cricketer Shadab Khan gets Golden Visa

ACC Men’s Under-16 West Zone Cup: Sethi, Sharma star as UAE records big win over Kuwait

Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum and Morad enter Padel semis at NAS Sports Tournament

Five African cities hold more than 50% of continent's private wealth

AI may affect 300mln full-time jobs: Goldman Sachs

UAE approves 24 national initiatives to double re-export industry

BP and UAE's ADNOC bid for stake in NewMed Energy

UAE banking sector to remain stable in 2023 – KPMG

Five players to watch in the IPL

IPL returns as Mumbai eye sixth title

IPL 2023: Teams, captains and key players

England skipper Stokes set to start IPL as batsman only - Hussey

Shadab leads Pakistan's consolation T20I win, Afghanistan take series

LATEST VIDEO

VIDEO: Why is China's Belt and Road Initiative facing setbacks?

ZAWYA COVERAGE

UAE President appoints Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, deputy rulers

Middle East, Asia-Pacific airfares surge 53%, pose threat to recovery of aviation sector - ACI

DP World develops edible oil terminal at Port of Berbera

Maldives airport temporarily shut down after Flydubai aircraft suffers tire burst on landing

DFM introduces 'Omnibus Accounts' to enhance market access

Portugal's rents hit record high amid cost of living crisis

Egypt to raise allocation for food subsidies by 20% in FY 2023/24 draft budget

IMF and Seychelles reach over $100mln staff-level agreement

Nuclear row looms over EU renewable energy talks

THE BRI REPORT

China is reshaping the Belt and Road Initiative ahead of a post-pandemic era

DISCOVER MORE

LATEST VIDEO

ZAWYA NEWSLETTERS

ZAWYA COVERAGE