“Women's IPL should be top priority”: Michael Vaughan to BCCI president Sourav Ganguly

London: Cricket commentator and former England captain Michael Vaughan batted for Women's Indian Premier League (IPL), saying it "should be top priority".

In the latest update about an impending IPL-style tournament for women, Ganguly told Sportstar: "The Women's T20 Challenge will again be back this year in the month of May. Hopefully, in the future, we will be able to host a bigger women's IPL once the number of women players (player pool) goes up. But this year, the Women's T20 Challenge will happen during the IPL playoffs."

There has been a huge demand by women cricketers, including overseas players, for a full-fledged IPL-style women's tournament in India.

BCCI has been hosting Women's T20 Challenge alongside the play-off stage of IPL since 2018. However, in 2021, the trend was halted as India was busy playing in Australia.

Women's T20 Challenge came into existence in 2018 after India's runners-up finish at the 2017 ODI World Cup.

The tournament initially started as a two-team affair, with Supernovas and Trailblazers competing in a one-off game.

BCCI expanded the tournament, adding a third team - Velocity - in 2019.

The last edition of Women's T20 Challenge took place in UAE in 2020. (UNI)