The wait for the women’s version of the IPL is finally over. A senior BCCI official has confirmed to PTI that the tournament is set to take place in March 2023, and will commence after the Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa concludes. 

A senior BCCI official said, “Yes, the WIPL will start in the first week of March and we have earmarked a four-week window for the first year. The T20 World Cup in South Africa is from February 9 to 26 and immediately after that we plan to hold the WIPL”.

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The official also added that the initial edition of the tournament was planned to be a five-team affair, but the number of teams could be raised to six since investors have been showing a lot of interest.

Earlier, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and its secretary, Jay Shah, had said that 2023 would be the year the first edition of women’s IPL is held. Shah was impressed with the response the proposal had received, saying, “I am thrilled at the kind of response we have got from the stakeholders. Multiple existing IPL teams have enquired and expressed serious interest in owning WIPL franchises”. Ganguly had also said that he believes the WIPL can emulate the success of the men’s IPL.

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The Indian women’s cricket team recently won the silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where players like Smriti Mandhana and Renuka Singh Thakur put in some sensational performances. Fans will be excited to see these star cricketers in action for various franchises in the WIPL.

Notably, Mandhana has been playing in Australia’s Women’s Big Bash League for quite some time now. She has represented various teams in the tournament, including Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, and the franchise she is playing for currently, Sydney Thunder.