Reports | BCCI plans to start Women’s IPL in March 2023

There has been a continuous discussion over the scheduling of women’s IPL recently from many former cricketers and experts. The demand for a full-fledged women’s IPL was on rise and Jay Shah had indicated that the BCCI was aiming to start it soon. BCCI are working on their plans for Women’s IPL and as per a report by ESPNcricinfo, they have earmarked a window in March 2023 for the inaugural edition. 

The report further states that BCCI has tweaked its women’s domestic calendar to accommodate the WIPL(Women’s IPL). The season generally starts in November and concludes by April but it is advanced by a month now. The season will commence with the T20 competition on October 11 and will end in February with a one-day competition. The owners of Rajasthan Royals and Barbados Royals have expressed their interest in having a WIPL franchise. The Knight Riders group who have teams in multiple leagues are also keen to add one more to their tally. 

After India’s silver medal in the recently held Commonwealth Games, senior players like Harmapreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana have backed the league. Former India captain Mithali Raj has also supported the concept and has expressed to desire to step out of retirement and be a part of the inaugural edition. 

"I'm keeping that option open. I've not yet decided. There are a few more months to go before the Women's IPL happens. It would be lovely to be part of the first edition of the Women's IPL,” she said while speaking on the ICC's 100% Cricket podcast. "