Australians are set to miss out on the women’s Indian Premier League exhibition series yet again, with Alyssa Healy describing a needless schedule clash with the WBBL as “sad”.
Healy and other teammates were shocked to read a report on Sunday night that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was looking at a window of November 1-10.
The expectation is the four All-Star matches will be staged alongside the men’s IPL finals in the UAE.
But the proposed games will also overlap with the world’s premier women’s domestic Twenty20 competition in Australia, which is currently listed to run October 17 until November 29.
“Our tournament is set and prepared,” Healy noted in a Twitter exchange with Indian sports journalist Boria Majumdar.
“There won’t be any understanding. Fairly sure players will abide by their contractual agreements in Aus.
“My rationale is coming from a current player in this environment who’s sad that we even have to be having this argument … sooooo dumb.”
This will be third edition of the women’s T20 Challenge, with players around the world hoping it encourages the BCCI to launch a fully-fledged WIPL.
The previous two events were also held alongside the IPL finals.
“The WBBL and BBL don’t run simultaneously,” Healy posted on Twitter.
“So why does the IPL and WIPL have to?
“How sad that would be for our game.
“Considering how fantastic the WBBL is for the internationals who play in it (and for us). Would be a sad move for our sport.”
Cricket Australia has already drawn up biosecurity plans for this year’s WBBL, expressing confidence that international stars will be able to take part.
Australia vice-captain Rachael Haynes tweeted that “while the game continues to grow, premier domestic competitions do not need to compete against each other” while teammate Jessica Jonassen posted “I have no words for this”.
Former New Zealand skipper Suzie Bates agreed it would be a “huge shame” for both the WBBL and women’s IPL to clash.
The 2020 clash comes after Healy, Ellyse Perry and Meg Lanning were blocked from taking part in the 2019 women’s T20 Challenge because of a bust-up between the BCCI and CA.
The star trio agreed to play in last year’s Indian event but never hopped on a plane, with CA pointing to a “communication breakdown” amid stalled negotiations between the two boards over the timing of a men’s ODI series.
© AAP
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