The Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) is launching the Women’s Andhra Premier League (WAPL), a four-team franchise-based tournament on the lines of the Andhra Premier League (APL) which is for men. It starts on Saturday (September 19) and concludes on September 27. All the matches will be played day and night in Mangalagiri.
The BCCI has not expanded the WPL from five teams mainly because it was not sure whether there were sufficient players. The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) held a three-team league for women. The ACA has been ambitious in launching a four-team league, and has claimed that there are enough women players in the state.
“Yes, we have the player pool,” ACA president Kesineni Sivanath told Cricbuzz. “The Women’s World Cup was also held in Andhra, and since then, a lot of players have shown interest. We have four teams because we have a pool of players. Hopefully, by next year, we will have six teams.” The association has obtained permission from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The association has conducted women’s league matches in the last two years. This time, it has converted that into a franchise-based league. “With the Andhra Women’s Premier League, we want to enhance women’s empowerment. We want to start the Women’s Premier League equally like the men’s Premier League,” Sivanath, who is a Lok Sabha member, said.
“We’re confident the women’s league will also become popular like the men’s league. We want to encourage them. We have started the Women’s Andhra Premier League in a mode where more players like Shree Charani can come from the state.” Shree Charani is an established left-arm spinner from the state who currently represents India.
Ahead of the launch of the league, the ACA undertook awareness programmes. An all-woman bike ride, comprising 100 women, was organised from Vijayawada to Mangalagiri. The driving force behind the league and the association is Mithali Raj, a former India cricketer and a legend.
The ACA president is confident that the league will see a record turnout, as the men’s league did. “We used to get 15,000 to 20,000 people for all the men’s matches, and we are confident the same kind of turnout will be there for the women’s matches too,” Sivanath hoped.
