Women's Cricket
Wise to host entire WPL in Mumbai: Kiran Powar
Former India U19 captain and BCCI Level 2 coach Kiran Powar explains the logic behind holding the entire WPL 2023 in one city.
The Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai will be one of two primary venues for the WPL 2023. (BCCI)
Former India U19 captain Kiran Powar feels that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has hit the jackpot by deciding to host the entire inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) in the western city.
"It is a very wise decision by the BCCI. Mumbai has a lot of good stadiums with great seating capacity, but no other city can boast of the same. Since it is just the inaugural edition, logistically they felt it would be better to host the entire season in one city – and there could be no better choice than Mumbai," said Kiran Powar to The Bridge.
The 46-year-old also said that WPL being hosted in Mumbai will give a big boost to women's cricket in the city, which is traditionally known to be a domestic superpower in men's cricket.
"It will surely be a big boost to women's cricket in Mumbai. A lot of young girls will be inspired to take up the sport after watching these stars play. The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has recently started tournaments for young girls, while the men's section has been in place since years," he said.
"We cannot compare Mumbai's dominance in men's cricket to women's. There is still a lot to be achieved for MCA in this aspect, and with the WPL happening in the city expect a lot to change for better," Powar added.
'Important to have BCCI-qualified coaches at grassroots'
Kiran Powar, who is also a BCCI Level 2 coach, stresses on the importance of having good quality coaches in the grassroots level.
"Earlier it was difficult to get young girls to play cricket, but now the situation has improved in that aspect. It is high time that MCA ensures participation of more and more BCCI qualified coaches in the grassroots level. There are a lot of academies these days, but no one focuses on the basics," he said.
"With the advent of leagues and involvement of corporates in the sport, no qualified coaches want to focus on grassroots and it is natural. I along with Ajit Agarkar have written to MCA quite a few times asking them to involve BCCI certified coaches in the grassroots levels to catch early talents, but all of it has fallen on deaf ears for now," Powar added.
'WPL will bring forth domestic talents'
Kiran, who is the brother of former Indian women's captain Ramesh Powar, feels that the advent of WPL will change the face of women's cricket in country as the IPL did for men's.
"Women's cricket is an untapped market in India till now. The WPL is going to change that. Expect a lot of talents domestic talents to come forward in the first few years of the league," he said.
"When I was playing, we never had such exposure at young age. But, these girls will be playing alongside the best from India and across the world. The WPL will help India become a dominant force in women's cricket," Powar signed off.
