BCCI, CA and ECB Moot Women's Champions League

A proposal for a Women’s T20 Champions League was floated and discussed by the boards of India, Australia and England on the sidelines of the ICC Annual Conference in Durban.

The Indian cricket board (BCCI), Cricket Australia (CA) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) discussed the possibility of staging the league involving women’s franchisees of the three countries, pretty much on the lines of the now defunct men’s Champions League that ran from 2008 to 2014.

While Australia’s Women’s Big Bash League is an established league, the Women’s Premier League made a roaring start this year and Women’s Hundred of England is now a three-year-old competition with the next edition starting August 1.

“The idea was floated during the ICC meetings and lot of work needs to take place before the project takes flight. The main thing is the interest from the broadcasters and then we will also need to look at a window and player availability,” a BCCI source told PTI.

Earlier this year, Viacom 18 had paid a whopping Rs 951 crore for the five-year rights of the Women’s Premier League, which took place in March. The deal made WPL the second-biggest T20 league in the world even before a ball was bowled.

Indian broadcasters are driving the global game and their interest in the proposed Women’s Champions League is likely to decide on the project seeing the light of the day. “Women’s cricket is more established in England and Australia at the moment but India is catching up fast. WPL was a big hit earlier this year and the proposal can only see the light of the day if it is sustainable for the broadcaster. It is still very early days,” the source added.

The men’s Champions League, which was jointly owned by boards of India, Australia and South Africa, had to be scrapped due to low spectator interest in the tournament.

Though the women’s cricket calendar is not as crowded as the men’s, finding a window too could be a challenge now that India too has its own league.

The BCCI is planning to host the second WPL during the Diwali season while the Women’s Hundred takes place in the English summer. The next edition of the WBBL will take place in October-November.