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Tamil Nadu’s Women’s Cricket League Remains a Maybe
Several Indian states have started cricket leagues for women.
These leagues give players chances to play and be noticed.
Tamil Nadu has talked about starting a women’s league, but it has not launched one yet.
Instead, it has begun with exhibition matches.
One of those matches was played in Chennai and shown on YouTube.
Tamil Nadu’s cricket association says it wants to assess the players before holding a franchise tournament.
The article’s author argues that starting a small league could help more clubs and players grow.
The article says a 2027 league is still only a possibility.
State-run women’s franchise cricket leagues have launched in Bengal, Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Mumbai.
At the first T20 Mumbai Women’s League auction, Aakash Tigers paid Rs 10 lakh for 16-year-old Ira Jadhav.
The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association discussed a women’s TNPL for 2025 and 2026, but has so far staged exhibition matches instead.
In August, the TNCA President’s XI beat the TNCA Secretary’s XI by three wickets in the first exhibition match, streamed on YouTube.
The article argues Tamil Nadu should start a small women’s league to help build its club and player base, rather than wait for talent to meet a threshold.
- Who
- The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association and women cricketers in Tamil Nadu.
- What
- Tamil Nadu has not launched a women’s franchise TNPL; it has held an exhibition match while considering a future league.
- Where
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu, for the exhibition match; the article also discusses women’s leagues across India.
- When
- The first exhibition match was played on 25 August; a franchise tournament has been discussed for 2027.
- Why
- The TNCA says it wants to assess talent and retain cricket quality; the author argues a league could help develop the talent and club base.
Start a league now
Assess talent first
Whether Tamil Nadu should launch a franchise league
Start a league now
The article’s author argues that a small league could create more opportunities, encourage clubs to form and help develop the player base.
Assess talent first
TNCA president TJ Srinivasaraj said a franchise tournament might follow if the talent is right and the quality of cricket can be maintained.
How much talent is already available
Start a league now
The article points to the association’s earlier statement that Tamil Nadu had enough talent for a smaller league, as well as G Kamalini’s high WPL auction price and India debut.
Assess talent first
The TNCA has said it would take stock of talent after exhibition matches; its president has also noted that the state has barely any dedicated women’s clubs.
Key facts
- First exhibition match
- Played on 25 August in Chennai.
- Match result
- TNCA President’s XI beat TNCA Secretary’s XI by three wickets in the final over.
- Broadcast
- The match was streamed on YouTube; no TV channel had secured the rights.
- TNCA proposal
- The association had discussed starting with four to six teams, or even two.
- Kamalini at WPL auction
- Mumbai Indians paid Rs 1.60 crore for G Kamalini in December 2024; Delhi Capitals bid Rs 1.50 crore.
- Bengal club growth
- The women’s club tournament grew from 10 clubs in 2024 to 20 in 2025 and 40 in 2026.
- Women’s T20 Mumbai League auction
- Franchises spent Rs 1.47 crore and selected 50 players from 363 available players.
Quotes
Jhulan Goswami
Former India cricketer who commented on the lack of professional women’s tournaments in states outside Bengal.
“At most, other states conduct exhibition matches for women”
theprint.in
Sources
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