Women’s T20 League player auction could be a distraction for players: Star New Zealand allrounder

The Indian Cricket Board is set to organise the first edition of the Women’s T20 League in the first week of March. The board is set to organise a player auction during the Women’s 20-20 World Cup which is set to commence on 10th February in South Africa. As the Women’s 20-20 World Cup and the Women’s T20 League auction coincide, the top female cricketers will need to keep their emotions in check and focus on the World Cup at hand.

The auction is set to be organized on February 13 in Mumbai, just a day after India’s opening game against arch-rival Pakistan. Talking about the auction, many players admitted that it could be a distraction. During the captain’s press conference in South Africa, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur said that the team is focused on their game against Pakistan.

“Before that, we have a very important game and we are just going to focus on that. The World Cup is more important than anything else. Our focus is on the major trophy. These things will keep coming, and as a player, you know what’s important for you and how you need to keep your focus. We are all mature enough and know what is important for us,” said Harmanpreet while speaking to reporters. 

Australia captain Meg Lanning echoed the same and said, “We are focusing on what we are trying to do here, which is the most important thing. There’s no right or wrong way to go about it. Everyone will deal with it as they wish. We’ve spoken as a team about letting people deal with it how they feel is best.” Kiwis captain Sophie Devine called the auction an “enormous step for women’s cricket”, but admitted that one would be “naive to think that it’s not going to be a distraction.”

Newly introduced Rules of Women’s T20 League

There is a lot of interest in the Women’s T20 League as it prepares for its inaugural auction. Nearly a thousand players have registered themselves for the auction. Around 45 players currently playing in the Women’s 20-20 World Cup could be picked during the auction. The Indian cricket board has already framed the rules for the player auction.

All five teams could only onboard a maximum of 18 players each in the purse limit of INR 12 crore. The purse limit for the Women’s T20 league is around eight times lower than the men’s league. However, according to a newly framed rule teams could pick up to seven overseas players including out of which one from associate countries is mandatory.