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BCCI Secretary Promises Increased Focus On Red Ball Cricket In Women's Domestic And Internationals
Follow UsDevijit Saikia said that at the senior level, women should play more red ball cricket, and BCCI is looking to ensure that
After doing it in men’s cricket, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is placing renewed emphasis on red-ball cricket in the women’s game. According to secretary Devajit Saikia, the board plans to increase both the number of women’s Test matches and the inclusion of multi-day fixtures in the domestic women’s calendar.
“Basically, women are playing more white-ball cricket — T20Is and ODIs. About three years back, India restarted playing multi-day (Test) cricket with Australia, New Zealand, and England,” Saikia told PTI, as quoted by India Today.
“When Jay Shah was the BCCI secretary, he took special initiative to promote women’s Test cricket. So we are now playing Test matches.
“At the senior level, we must have more multi-day tournaments. That is one area we have to work on. All our domestic tournaments are mainly either T20 or 50-over matches. Maybe we will have to introduce multi-day competitions, just like the Ranji Trophy for men.”
Currently, India’s women’s team participates mainly in one-off Tests as part of bilateral series before returning to limited-overs play. Saikia pointed to this imbalance in his statement.
“Already we are playing Test matches against England and Australia, but we must find a way to include multi-day matches in all bilateral series.”
Saikia also called the ongoing momentum in women’s cricket a historic moment. He mentioned the full stadium for the World Cup Semi-Final In Navi Mumbai and hailed the team for their stupendous victory.
“When the WPL was introduced professionally with strong sponsorship and viewership across television and digital platforms, it created a paradigm shift in Indian women’s cricket.
“The WPL has elevated the women’s game in India. The team’s confidence, body language, and attitude have transformed in the last 3–4 years. If we win this trophy, it could have the same impact as 1983,” he said.
“It was a packed stadium, which was not common earlier. This victory over Australia will be a game-changer and give huge momentum to the future of Indian women’s cricket.”