Women's cricket awaits birth of a superpower with game set to take off in India
The Hindu
While male players have long enjoyed rock star status in the cricket-mad country, their female counterparts have had to fight hard to be taken seriously
Women's cricket looks poised to step out of the imposing shadow of the men's game in India, and the rest of the world is bracing for the birth of a superpower in the sport.
While male players have long enjoyed rock star status in the cricket-mad country, their female counterparts have had to fight hard to be taken seriously.
Their struggle has finally started yielding results, however, and 15 years after the launch of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a full-fledged women's T20 tournament will get underway in March.
Crucially, corporate India has seen financial sense in investing in the Women's Premier League (WPL).
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already pocketed nearly $690 million from the sales of franchises and media rights, with the revenue flow to be boosted further when a title sponsor comes on board later this month.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur called the league a "game changer" for women's cricket in the country, building on the growing enthusiasm for the female game among Indian fans.
That enthusiasm was evident in the home T20 series against Australia in December, which the tourists won 4-1.
Sumit Nagal attained the 77th place in ATP rankings. As per the established criteria, the top 56 players, both in men’s and women’s rankings, will attain automatic qualification for the Olympics but no more than four per country can make the cut for the Games, a rule which allows lower ranked players to sneak into the draw.