IPL for women: Dear BCCI, don't let Mithali Raj girls' valiant effort go in vain

Mithali Raj finished her World Cup career that has spanned across five editions and two finals without a world title. So did the all-time leading wicket-taker Jhulan Goswami.

Most of the girls, who were part of the squad in the Lord's final on Sunday, July 23, were reduced to tears as the Indian team suffered a heartbreaking defeat to eventual winners England.

Despite not being able to emulate the 1983 efforts of "Kapil's Devils", the Women in Blue have stirred a revolution. After knocking out six-time champions Australia in the semi-final, the girls went on to become the toast of the nation.

Girls capture cricket fans' imagination

Doubts over the ability of women's cricket to bring in numbers have been smashed. Unprecedented number of cricket fans followed Sunday's final on television and digital media platforms across the globe.

Giant screens were also set up in some parts of India and few even took to the streets in support of Raj and her team. The fans rejoiced when Harmanpreet Kaur was taking apart the Australian attack and the same set wept when India fell at the final hurdle.

Raj's demand

Skipper Raj cut a confident and proud figure during the post-match presentation ceremony on Sunday. The 34-year-old seemed to have done away with the disappointment of letting the title slip away from their hands and shed light on what future holds for the women cricketers.

Ruing India's lack of exposure of playing big matches, Raj stressed that there is no better time to come up with an Indian Premier League-themed tournament for women cricketers in the country.

Quoting the improvement in gameplay of Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, who had featured in Women's Big Bash League [WBBL], Raj also shed light on the importance of top-quality exposure for Indian women cricketers.

"If you ask me they should have IPL because now is the right time to create that base. Women's cricket is everywhere and they have put up a much better standard than the last World Cup," Raj said on Sunday.

She added: "The WBBL has given exposure to the two girls who have played. If more girls participate in such leagues, it will give them experience and help them to improve their own game."

Will Women's IPL take shape?

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not done much to improve the standard of women's cricket in the country. 

Let alone the disparity in salaries of men's and women's cricketers, the latter were not even offered annual retainership contracts until 2015, nine years after the governing body took control of women's cricket.

While the male cricketers were offered retainership contracts from 2001, their female counterparts had to wait until Shashank Manohar took over the cricket board in 2015.

Raj, Kaur, Jhulan Goswami and Thirush Kamini were offered Grade A contract, which came with Rs 15 Lakh per year and seven others were handed Grade B contracts.

Raj and her girls are now being paid on tour-to-tour basis and the BCCI has promised announcement of new contracts in May 2017, after a long delay.

Can you imagine Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni featuring for India at a World Cup event without annual contract in their hands?

BCCI's indifferent attitude

International Cricket Council (ICC), for long, had been waiting for the BCCI to take the initiative in women's cricket as well. However, the Indian cricket board had been reluctant. Notably, the women's team did not play a single Test match between 2006 and 2014 -- an eight year period.

The ICC Women's Championships, which was played between 2014 and 2016, made sure India were involved in bilateral action ahead of the recently-concluded world event.

Despite all the shortcomings, the women went on to put a valiant show in England. After some dismal performances in the warm-up games, not many gave Raj's side a chance. But the girls exceeded expectations by battling against odds.

Now, the BCCI has another chance to redeem itself. The 2017 Women's World Cup has proved that cricket is no longer men's exclusive property. A Women's IPL will not only benefit the Rajs and Kaurs of the nation, but it seems the governing body's coffers will also be filled.

A win-win situation. Is BCCI, listening?