NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah confirmed that the second season of the Women’s Premier League will be played in “one state” of India.
After the WPL auction on Saturday in Mumbai, Shah spoke to reporters and talked about February as the possible month for the WPL, while also stating that the tournament will be held in one state.
“It is decided that we will have the tournament in February. Most probably, we will start in the second or third week. As far as the venue is concerned, it will be held in one state only so that it is better logistically. Logistics are very important for us this time; next time we can figure it [having more venues] out,” Shah told reporters, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
The last edition of the WPL was held in Mumbai across two venues: the Brabourne Stadium and the DY Patil Sports Academy.
But this time, the three possible locations that have emerged for conducting WPL are Bangalore, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.
“We can do it either in Bangalore (Karnataka) or Uttar Pradesh. We have so many venues, even in Gujarat, where we have Ahmedabad and Rajkot and after a few years, Baroda can build their own stadium. Basically, it is a joint call between the franchises and the BCCI. We will sit together and we will decide. We will let you know. It will be in one state, that is for sure,” Shah added.
India’s women’s team is currently playing in Mumbai against the England women’s team. In the coming days, they will square off against Australia in Mumbai.
When Shah was quizzed about a plan for India’s women’s team to play in other states or cities, he said, “The domestic season is going on, so we will have to see – where the venue is available, we will have it. There are [other] matches happening in Gujarat, Chandigarh, Ranchi… it is not the case that we want to organise matches in Mumbai only.” (ANI)