Harmanpreet Kaur, who became the first Indian women’s cricketer to feature in the Women’s Big Bash League in 2016, will miss playing the league, this year. Her remark came after BCCI has scheduled the Women’s T20 Challenge in early November which will clash with the WBBL schedule.
The India Women’s T20 captain Kaur was set to play her fourth WBBL edition, however, it overlaps with BCCI’s women’s competition, which subsequently has led her to miss this year’s edition.
Harmanpreet was also not able to play the last year’s WBBL because the board had set the bilateral series during that time.
Notably, the WBBL is a full-fledged T20 competition in the women’s game that runs for six weeks.
However, the Women’s T20 challenge is still an exhibition match that was introduced in 2018. BCCI had promised to convert it into a Women’s IPL but the decision is still to be taken.
Harmanpreet Kaur going to miss WBBL 2020:
Although the T20 captain didn’t blame BCCI, however, Harmanpreet Kaur expressed that he would absolutely miss for not featuring in the premier domestic competition in Australia.
“The WBBL has always been a premier domestic competition worldwide, and I will definitely miss not being part of it,” she said at the launch of WTF Sports, a fantasy gaming app.
However, she is excited to play in the Women’s T20 challenge which will be the first women’s competition since the outbreak of the virus. She counts the importance of the mini-series which helps the team to scout talented women’s players.
“It is fantastic news. As cricketers we haven’t played since the World Cup (T20 2020). We are raring to get back in action.”
“It is very important for the women’s game to grow and for more talent to come out, which has been the case in the men’s game. The board is gradually building towards having the women’s IPL in a few years.”
In the last edition of the Women’s T20 Challenge, Harmanpreet Kaur-led Supernovas clinched the trophy after defeating Mithali Raj-led Velocity by four wickets.