Inaugural season of Women's IPL likely to be held from March 3 to 26: Reports

The inaugural edition of the Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL) is likely to be played from March 3 to 26. The men’s version - IPL 2023 - is set to start on April 1. There has been no official confirmation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) yet over the dates.

There has been plenty of excitement among fans as well as players over the WIPL, ever since the Indian cricket board confirmed that the tournament was in the plans for 2023.

According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, the BCCI has earmarked a window for the WIPL. The T20 league is set to kick off a few days after the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup final, which will be played on February 2.

As part of the organization process, the BCCI on Friday, December 9, announced the media-rights tender for the 2023 to 2027 Women's IPL seasons. The last date to pick up the tender has been set as December 31.

According to reports, the inaugural edition of WIPL will feature five franchises playing 22 matches. The maximum squad limit is set at 18, which can include up to six overseas players. Five foreign players can feature in a playing XI during a WIPL game, provided four are from Full Member countries and one is from an Associate nation.

Meanwhile, the BCCI is said to be working on the availability of overseas cricketers before it finalizes the dates for the Men’s IPL. The T20 league is set to be played in the home-and-away format after the schedule had to be altered in the last couple of seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

---

What India’s stars have to say about Women's IPL

According to India women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur, the WIPL can play a big role in preparing domestic cricketers for the upcoming challenges, which they will face when they make the transition to the international level.

Speaking on the Star Sports show ‘Follow the Blues’ a few days back, Harmanpreet said:

“The IPL will be a great platform for players that are really good, but you know for them, international cricket is still something that they cannot change their approach and mind-set overnight. But in the IPL, when they get a chance to play against overseas players, it will give them a platform, they can play well, they can understand what is international cricket.”

Senior batter and opener Smriti Mandhana echoed similar sentiments about the Women’s IPL, while also pointing out how Big Bash and The Hundred have helped Australia and England, respectively. She commented:

“Grassroot wise and we have seen how the Big Bash and The Hundred have helped Australia and England respectively in their domestic set-up as well as other things. So, I’m actually really happy, the Indian team will benefit a lot from the women’s IPL, but it’s also going to benefit a lot of domestic girls which I’m looking forward to.”

The Indian Women’s team is currently taking on Australia Women in a five-match T20I series at home. The visitors hammered the Women in Blue by nine wickets in the first game at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Friday.