Rajasthan Royals CEO Jake Lush McCrum express interest in owning a team in the Women’s IPL tournament which BCCI decides to host next year.
Rajasthan Royals CEO Interested in owning a team in Women’s IPL
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly announced the board’s intention to do so some time ago, and there has been speculation about how it will play out since then.
Up till now, BCCI has been holding a Women’s T20 Challenge since 2018 in the middle of the IPL, barring last year when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
BCCI released the Women’s T20 Challenge 2022 schedule earlier this month. And recently, in an interview with Wisden India, inaugural edition winners Rajasthan Royals CEO Jake Lush McCrum has expressed that the Jaipur-based franchise is ‘definitely interested’ in expanding its base and adding a women’s team to its portfolio.
“We’d love to have a women’s IPL team when it launches next year,” McCrum said. “We’re definitely very interested in expanding our franchise base. I’m so excited about the growth of women’s cricket in India and around the world.”
Citing the success of the Women’s Big Bash League and The Hundred, McCrum is hopeful it can be replicated in India as well.
“We’ve seen in Australia the amount of investment they’ve put in and the impact that’s had on the game, and on the fanbase, the following, the grassroots cricket. In England, last year, I think the biggest success of The Hundred was women’s cricket.
The amount of fans coming in to watch the women’s cricket match, the amount of girls playing cricket that summer, it’s awesome,” he said.
He continued, “In India, the growth of participants in the women’s game has been significant, and I think a women’s IPL would take it to the next level.
Because it would make parents and families around the world see that it is a viable career option. It is an amazing sport, and we want everyone to be a part of it.”
Apart from the Rajasthan Royals, the franchise owners have acquired a majority stake in the Caribbean Premier League’s (CPL) Barbados Tridents, which has now been renamed the Barbados Royals.
