WPL: "We Did This Planning At That Time, And Now It Was Implemented" - Sourav Ganguly On Women's Premier League

In an exclusive interview with India Today, former India captain Sourav Ganguly has revealed that the Women’s Premier League (WPL) was a brainchild of his administration during his three-year tenure as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President.

Ganguly, who is widely regarded as one of India’s most successful cricket administrators, has said that women’s cricket has massive potential and that the tournament will not be limited to just 5 teams.

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Sourav Ganguly Not Surprised By Women’s IPL

He also emphasized the need for equal pay for women cricketers, saying that he and Jay Shah had put in a lot of effort for it. However, he acknowledged that the progress was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic for two years.

Speaking about the WPL, Ganguly said, “We together have done the brainstorming during the time when I was BCCI president. I was President, Rajeev Shukla was VP, Jay Shah was Secretary, Arun Dhumal was Treasurer. We did this planning at that time, and now it was implemented. That has to be done. I am not surprised about Women’s IPL as in India cricket has a big portion. And in the coming days, I don’t think it will be limited to only 5 teams.”

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“I have given much effort and time for Women’s Cricket. In 3 years I and Jay both have given efforts for it. But in between there was Covid-19 for 2 years. Many things were stuck due to that. I have seen a lot of development in women’s cricket in the last three years. And I give due credit to our women cricketers, coaches and staff who have done a tremendous job.”

He also mentioned that the upcoming Australia series is highly anticipated and he hopes it will be a very good one. Sourav Ganguly also discussed the form of current India captain Virat Kohli, saying, “Virat Kohli is doing good. He has done well against Bangladesh and Srilanka. He has to do well at Test Cricket also because the Indian cricket team depends on him. The Australia series is coming soon and I hope it will be a very good one. I want India and Australia to play the World Test Championship Final.”

Sourav Ganguly Wants To See Same Side Play Till The World Cup

On the subject of India’s chances in the ODI World Cup, scheduled to be held in the subcontinent later this year, Sourav Ganguly said, “Indian side is very strong. India can’t be a bad team. In our country, there are lots of players who play cricket. Half of them don’t get a chance in the national team as the competition is very high. I want this team to play till World Cup. I want that the selectors and Rahul Dravid should keep this team together till World Cup. And in World Cup they should not worry much they just have to play good.”

Sourav Ganguly urged the Indian team to play fearlessly and keep calm in the upcoming World Cup, saying, “Just they have to play the World Cup fearlessly, they have to keep calm. They are a good team. All the players are good. This team has Shubhman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja will also come back. And this is a very strong team.”