Taking one step ahead towards the Women’s IPL, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to add a new team to the Women’s T20 exhibition matches it has been conducting over the last two IPL seasons.
In 2018, two teams – Supernovas and Trailblazers – competed in a one-off exhibition match, which finished in a last-ball thriller. Last year, a third-team – Velocity – was added with four matches hosted in Jaipur, which ran parallel to the main IPL playoffs.
For the 2020 edition, the fourth team is yet to be named. But there will be in total seven matches, including the final, which will be played once again around the IPL playoffs.
The IPL Governing Council has also decided to let an off-field match official supervise no-balls. The move is bound to be welcomed by the players considering the errors by on-field umpires over the years that have left cricket fans, experts and players fuming.
Last IPL, Virat Kohli, leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in a crucial match against the Mumbai Indians, called the umpiring standards “ridiculous” and club standard. Incidentally, the no-ball delivered by Lasith Malinga went unnoticed by S Ravi, one of the on-field umpires who has now been removed from the ICC’s Elite Panel.
