Heather Knight
Heather Knight. Image- cricket365.com

Captain of England Women’s cricket team, Heather Knight appreciates superstar all-rounder Ben Stokes batting for the organizing of a women’s IPL in India.

Recently, Stokes, who will turn up for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2021, said that the women’s game has grown leaps and bounds in the past few years; he feels that the time has come for a women’s IPL to be conducted.

Ben Stokes
England’s Ben Stokes (Photo-Getty)

“Yes, I think the women’s game, especially over the last four to five years, has gone from strength to strength and it’s great how it is filtering into the men’s game in terms of [parallel] competitions and things like that,” Ben Stokes said on Red Bull’s Decoding Athletes podcast.

“I’m very hopeful there’ll be a women’s franchise side associated with every men’s franchise side so we’re able to grow the women’s game even bigger. What better place to do it than out here in India?” he continued.

Heather Knight thanked Stokes for his comments. She opined that the women’s game would grow further if more players speak for the improvement of their game, as the all-rounder did.

The 30-year-old skipper, says that it would be “amazing” and a “really positive thing” for the women’s cricket if the IPL is conducted by the BCCI, as the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia, and now the upcoming The Hundred in England.

“It was awesome to see Stokesy talk about the women’s IPL. The more allies we have in women’s cricket, it really helps to change perceptions. It’s great from Ben to say that and I totally agree, I think it would be amazing for the women’s game to have an IPL.

“You’ve seen it in Australia with the Big Bash, and hopefully here with the Hundred having men’s and women’s competitions alongside each other, it’s a really positive thing for the women’s game and really helps to progress things. It was really nice to see Ben make those comments,” Heather Knight was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.

Playing the first-ever game of the Hundred as a women’s game is a really big step: Heather Knight

Heather Knight
Heather Knight. (Photo: Twitter/@ICC)

Heather Knight, who won the WBBL with the Sydney Thunder in November and was twice the winner of the now-defunct Kia Super League winner, applauds the ECB’s step to promote the Hundred with the same enthusiasm and importance as they are doing for the men’s edition. In fact, the first game of the season would be a women’s encounter between Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals.

“When you switch on the Hundred as a young girl. you’re going to see men’s cricket and women’s cricket put on the same pedestal, the same branding, matches at the same venue, etc.

“I think that’s great and really important to do that, to change perceptions of getting people involved in cricket. If you’re a young girl and you see people like you playing cricket at the highest level, that’s going to encourage you that it’s a sport for you.

“Little things like playing the first-ever game of the Hundred as a women’s game is a really big step. It’s going to be a huge summer and hopefully the competition goes really well,” the right-hander expressed her delight.

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