Raj says that since the last year or so, the players' identity has improved and "people have started to understand what is Indian women's cricket team and who all play for the team"
With the popularity of the Indian woman cricketers growing and most of them becoming household names, especially since their entry into the ICC Women's World Cup final in 2017, the talk of an IPL-like league for women has been inevitable.
ODI captain Mithali Raj said here on Sunday, the eve of the second ODI against England that is part of the ICC Women's Championship, that the time is now right for a women's league in India.
The Women's Big Bash League in Australia and the Super League in England have been a roaring success with the likes of India's Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur plying their trades in the T20 formats with good results.
Raj, on Sunday, said that since the last year or so, the players' identity has improved and "people have started to understand what is Indian women's cricket team and who all play for the team".
She explained: "Now since a year or two people have gone beyond 2-3 players. They recognise other players in the squad and now probably is the right time to get in IPL because T20 is also a format that ICC is looking to promote women's cricket. It's important that if we can have an IPL, promote the IPL kind of a league in our country, even domestic structure will improve immensely. A lot of young players who come in like Harleen (Deol) or any debutante will take some time because our domestic structure doesn't offer that much experience before coming into international arena. If you have leagues like this, when they make a debut, they are already experienced enough to absorb the pressure at international levels."
Around the same time last year, before the home series against Australia, Raj had said that time was not right then to have a T20 league for women in India. "It's important to have a pool of quality players who will be qualified to play the IPL kind of league. India 'A' itself needs quality players. Once we have enough players, it would be wise enough to think about it. There is a big difference between an international player and a domestic player. Presently, it (league) may go against promoting women's cricket," she had said last March.
Since then, while India have been making steady progress in women's international cricket, entering the semifinal of the Women's World T20 and now jumping from fourth to second in the Women's Championship table (50-over format) following their win in the first ODI against England here on Friday. But, the same cannot be said of the 'A' team or other domestic sides, what with teams like Mizoram putting up totals of 9 all out in the ongoing senior women's T20 League.
The 36-year-old Raj also said that having India 'A' tours regularly and not just having a Board President's XI playing visiting teams but "also giving them tours abroad with Australia 'A', New Zealand 'A' or England 'A', whose exposure will help immensely".
She added that the U-19 and U-21 World Cups for women are other ways of giving young girls more opportunities so that "they have another shot at representing their country at the World Cup as not many are able to make it to the senior World Cup."
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