Captain of the Indian women's team Mithali Raj on Tuesday expressed hope that an IPl-type league would come up for women in the future.
Speaking at a function organised by FICCI here, Raj talked about the feasibility of such an idea.
"There is a good possibility of having an IPl for women, similar to the Big Bash league in Australia, in about two years' time. We need that much time to build up a group of players for a tournament like that," she said.
She also talked about the difficulties women cricketers faced in the past and how things have since changed.
"Coming under the wings of BCCI completely changed things for women's cricket in India. Prior to that, our administrators struggled with finances. I have experience of travelling unreserved in trains as an international cricketer. lots of talented female cricketers were lost to the game because they just didn't see this sport as a viable career option," the India captain recounted.
But she looked at the positive changes that have come into the game and how they have affected the players.
"With BCCI taking over women's cricket, now we are looked after better. Also, matches being televised have made a big difference. We don't have to run after sponsors to get them on board.
"Another example of the change is how Smriti Mandhana, who was injured before the 2017 World Cup, was able to get the best possible treatment and recover in time for the tournament. In the old days, she would have had to sit out for a much longer period," explained the 34-year old.
Recently it was announced that there would be a biopic made on Raj. The leading run scorer in international cricket seemed happy about it. "The journey of a women cricketer needs to be told. We don't get the facilities that boys get at the grass-root level and therefore have to achieve big to get attention of the media and people at large," the player with 6,190 runs said.