Th e Int e r n at i o n a l Cricket Council (ICC) expects that by planning ahead for the T20 circuit with the help of their already published Future Tours Programme, they would be able to coordinate a women’s international cricket schedule that conflicts less frequently with franchise leagues than in the men’s game. The ICC introduced its inaugural women’s FTP last year, well before Women’s PSL and IPL were announced, and the game’s international governing body is confident in its ability to control the growth of the women’s game so that both league and international cricket can be played concurrently. “The balance between the women’s international fixtures and the domestic leagues is something we are going to have a better chance at co-ordinating than the way the men’s calendar has developed over the last decade or so. We are starting to see a fairly regular schedule of cricket for the top female players around the world and the release of the first FTP for women’s international cricket was a big stepping stone for trying to get ahead of that and trying to avoid clashes wherever possible with some of those leagues. It is something we are monitoring on a regular basis and hopefully as we update the FTP, it’s something we will continue to do to stay ahead of,” Geoff Allardice, the ICC’s CEO said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. The lack of Test matches is a significant distinction between the men’s and women’s games that Allardice thinks will favour the women’s calendar.
“The one difference is that there isn’t the same chunks of time taken up with Test series in the women’s calendar and that gives a little bit more freedom to avoid those clashes,” he added. There is sufficient cricket time for the white-ball format because there are just seven Test matches for the women’s FTP scheduled for the years 2022-25. In advance of the T20 World Cup, which begins next month and will be followed by the debut seasons of the Women’s IPL and PSL, a number of women’s teams are already playing T20 cricket. With applications for teams currently open and the player auction scheduled for January 26, the WIPL is particularly intriguing. The ICC views the WIPL as a competition that can accomplish the same, much like the men’s IPL did for Indian and global players seeking huge money and professional growth chances. “It will be tremendous for Indian cricket but also for overseas players who participate in the tournament. We have seen in the IndiaAustralia series, not only did we have great crowds, we also had a great standard of cricket which has been a good advertisement for whatever might come next. The opportunity for so many more players to become professional and become close to professionalism will boost the depth and the quality in not just India but all over the world,” Snehal Pradhan, the ICC’s new Women’s Cricket Manager, said.
