Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry has said the a full women’s IPL season is the logical next step for the game to progress.
Perry, a superstar of the game, was one of five Australians to take part in the one-off exhibition IPL match organised by the BCCI in May ahead of the first playoff game, in which Harmanpreet Kaur’s Supernovas took on Smriti Mandhana’s Trailblazers. Meg Lanning, Alyssa Healy, Megan Schutt and Beth Mooney were the others, alongside players from New Zealand and England.
“A full IPL season is definitely the next step,” Perry told foxsports.com.au. “It would open up huge avenues for the game to continue to grow. Putting that competition in place would take the game to all new heights.
“The first exhibition match we did was really successful and I guess it’s now up to the BCCI to find a way to implement a full tournament.”
After the women’s IPL exhibition match in Mumbai, the BCCI had reportedly started planning for a women’s edition of the league next year onwards. This proposed women’s Indian Premier League would be on a smaller scale with about three to four teams in action, according to an earlier report by The Indian Express.
(Read more: The women’s IPL exhibition match was entertaining but just a baby step towards a potential league)
With the success of the women’s Big Bash League and KIA Super League, the game’s developing at a fast pace, especially in the shorter format. It has also resulted in the gap reducing between Australia and the other nations. The Southern Stars currently hold neither the World T20 title nor the 50-over World Cup, with their dominance being challenged. Perry said this is good for the game overall.
“As the sport gets more and more professional and girls are able to play on a full-time basis it’s only going to develop the way that they play the game,” she said.
“We wouldn’t change this, but we’ve kind of shot ourselves in the foot with the WBBL because we’ve opened it up to the best international players in the world and that’s given them the chance to continue to develop and make really great money for a six-week competition. As I said we wouldn’t change that because it’s really developing the whole game and moving it forward. The opportunity to play more and more matches has really brought rise to a lot of teams in the world.”
India’s captain Kaur and vice-captain Mandhana (in the shortest format) are both involved in the ongoing KIA Super League, with the latter lighting up the tournament with her flamboyant batting.