Sourav Ganguly Confirms That Women's T20 Challenger Trophy Is 'Very Much On'

Sourav Ganguly, the current President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has confirmed the apex cricketing body’s plans to stage the Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy, ending all the speculations about the board not having any concrete plans in place for the Women in Blue.

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League is set to take place in the United Arab Emirates between September 19 to November 8 or 10 [the final date is yet to be locked in].

“I can confirm to you that the women’s IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also,” Ganguly told PTI ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting later on Sunday.

Also Read: Mithali Raj Admits She Would Have Retired If India Had Won The 2017 World Cup

Women cricketers to undergo a training camp before the Challenger T20 Trophy: Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly, who is currently awaiting the Supreme Court’s verdict on the waiver of the cooling-off period for his tenure, refused to divulge into further details. However, according to BCCI sources, the Women’s IPL or the T20 Challengers Series is likely to be held between November 01-10.

The source also added that BCCI could conduct a training camp for the Women in Blue ahead of the T20 Challenger Trophy.

“The women’s Challenger series is likely to be held between November 1-10 and there could be a camp before that,” the source said.

Sourav Ganguly also added that the centrally contracted women players will have a camp, which was delayed due to the steadily escalating Covid-19 situation in the country.

“We couldn’t have exposed any of our cricketers – be it male or female to health risk. It would have been dangerous. The NCA also remained shut because of Covid-19. But we have a plan in place and we will have a camp for women, I can tell you that.” Sourav Ganguly said.

In a very imp development @BCCI @SGanguly99 confirms women’s @IPL on the model of last year with 4 teams to be played between 1-10 November in UAE. @BCCIWomen @mandhana_smriti @ImHarmanpreet @JhulanG10 @M_Raj03 this is welcome news. Camp in October says Sourav. @IndiaToday

— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) August 2, 2020

Meanwhile, the BCCI cricket operations team is also chalking out a plan that could see the Indian women team playing two full-fledged series against South Africa in October and West Indies [after the Challenger Trophy] before traveling to New Zealand for the 50-over World Cup.

Also Read: Mithali Raj Believes It Will Be Hard To Build On The Recent Rise In Popularity Of Women’s Cricket Due To Covid-19