The inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) has proven to be a huge success. Some big scores, outstanding talent on show with both bat and ball and thrilling cricket on display which has pulled in big crowds. However, with boundaries in just 50-60 metre range and the rule of four fielders out of the circle, the calls have gotten louder to bring changes in both. The commentators on air Harsha Bhogle, Anjum Chopra, Natalie Germanos and Mel Jones have voiced in favour of boundary ropes being pushed by 5-10 metres with the fifth fielder to be outside the circle like the men’s game as in crunch moments, the bowlers and the fielding captain have missed a fielder on the off side (mostly) as the bowlers have lost a key component of death bowling – off-side wide yorker.
As the tournament gears up for its finale between the table-toppers Delhi Capitals and the Mumbai Indians, the hope and expectations from the next season have already begun. Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet was asked about the boundary size on the eve of the finale and she came up with a brilliant response.
“Hum logo ne thodi na rope lagaya hai. Jinhone rope lagaya hai aap unko poocho na [laughs]. (We did not put the boundary ropes in place. You should ask whoever has done that). It is not in our hands no? It is in the hands of the officials. You can talk to them,” she said in the pre-match press conference alongside Delhi Capitals skipper Meg Lanning.
Talking about how WPL will revolutionise and improve women’s cricket in India, Harmanpreet said that the opportunities at such a big stage will be critical in the growth and development of the young players and the results will start showing in 2-3 years.
“WBBL played a big role in the development of cricket in their country and WPL is also going to have the same role for our cricket. The domestic players are going to get a lot of opportunities, many girls have done well as we have seen. We will start seeing the results in 2-3 years. I am confident that Indian talent is also going to do well like Australia are doing,” she said.
