 Hello and let's talk about the women's T20 challenge final that's being held today. Now if you don't know what that is, it's no surprise because this tournament which is presumably the women's version of the IPL has only four matches, including the one today. The final that's being held today, we'll see the supernovas play the trailblazers. Now these teams clearly don't have cities associated with them unlike the IPL. In addition to the two finalists, there was a grand total of one more team, Velocity. The tournament started on November 4th and ends today. Now it's no surprise that women's sport is not given the best treatment by administrators in India, but this is cricket and we have the BCCI which is one of the richest bodies in the world when it comes to sports. Yet while the IPL has stretched on for close to 60 matches with a lot of media attention, a lot of commentary, the women's tournament is nowhere close to the picture. And do remember, India was a finalist in the T20 women's World Cup held in February and March this year. So what explains this kind of treatment? We talked in news clicks, Leslie Xavier to find out more. So Leslie, today is the final of the women's T20 challenge, which is technically the equivalent to the IPL for women's cricket in India. But this series only has four matches. There's not been too much hype around it. On the other hand, we've seen how the IPL has been going on for so many days. Now it's almost 60 matches. And so what is the reason that the women's tournament has got such a short ship? So to speak, or it's been really neglected? It's always been neglected. So a couple of years back when BCCI suddenly had this noble brainwave that they should also push the women's game, it was a one-off match. And then slowly I would say that four matches compared to one match, a couple of years back, that's an improvement. But it's always been a challenge. The names are just so women's T20 challenges. It's always been a challenge for women's game and cricket and football in any of these professional sports that you take. I mean, of course, across the world also there are issues, but then many of these leagues like, for instance, England and football, they have all started pushing the women's game in a much, much better way. But in India, it's always been a challenge and BCCI has had a slightly, I mean, it's very clear. It's almost like an afterthought after this tournament is being organized, though they claim otherwise. So what is happening? What is the first drowsy that one gets to have when we look at this is that when it comes to the women's game, suddenly the discussion revolves around feasibility and financial viability, etc. When the men's game, there's no discussion at all. And as a federation, as a governing body for the sport, your primary goal is, of course, to ensure that the game has an all-round development, right from the grassroots to the IS level, across the gender divide. So in that regard, it's been low-sided development of cricket in India. And again, the comparison directly has to be made with the top three countries that way, because India as far as cricketing is concerned, India is the biggest cricketing nation in the world. And of course, England and Australia are the other two big nations. And Australia, the Big Bash League is the biggest league in the world for women. Well, there is a women's Big Bash League. And it's a full season. And a few of our Indian players have played also, someone like Arman Kreet, for instance, who is captain of one of the sides in the women's team, in the IPL women's team, in the challenge. So compared to those, BCCI is like a stone age away. They're still in the stone ages that way. And still they discuss about viability, feasibility and all that. And in fact, just yesterday, the board president, sort of Ganguly, was quoted as saying that in a couple of years' time, we will have a women's league on par with the men's league with seven to eight teams. And it's going to be big after that. So it's great if it happens like that. But the larger point is that at the moment, at present, what are you doing for the game? Because as far as I see, as far as everybody can see, the women have not played a single game until last week since their World Cup, that was early this year, January 5th. And their domestic season went for a toss, whatever the small tournaments that they had went for the toss because of the pandemic, no international tours, no international matches, pictures, everything is cancelled. While the men's team is going to travel after the IPL to Australia for the series. And but nothing is planned for the women this year, nor early part of next year. And these four matches are the only matches that the women are getting this year, the best part of this year that almost 10 months, they're getting four matches. So what are you doing for the, what is the board doing for the women's game this year at the present? You talk grand plans about two years later. But at present, the way things have been handled for the women's side of the game, it so happens that it is going to pull back the women's game for the little growth that it has had in the last four, five years. And I speak about four, five years because that is exactly when the women's game was treated in a slightly better way. Because before that, it was more arbitrary. Suddenly, when the tournament or a bilateral series happened, the team is convened, the coaches and the managers are gotten, they have given a contract for the tournament, not for the duration like the men's. There was no central contract that started recently, two years, three years back. And so women's game has taken baby steps into some semblance of I mean, existence that we're in a professional setup only recently. And with the kind of apathy or with the kind of short-sighted approach that the DCCI is managing this, it would have a long-term impact as well because this, we are talking about the elite players not getting a chance to play, but then that happens down is much more and much more worse. So that's the whole point that you're just giving the woman a chance to play for matches in a year. So how unfair is that? Absolutely. And the key question, of course, like you said, is the BCCI is flush with money. So it's not even an issue of resources for that matter, it's just an issue of priorities. Exactly. So as far as revenue is concerned, of course, the BCCI is as ensured that this year also, I mean, even if IPL was not conducted, they would have gotten the money and it wouldn't have been a, I mean, there would have been some dent, but it wouldn't have been a loss at all. But with IPL being staged, and of course, there has been TV audience and people have been following from right across the world because cricket action has been less than any sporting action for that matter, unless people want to consume, people want to watch the matches. So money has come in for sure. And if you conduct a tournament, being a board, if you're acting as a board rather than a business entity, full-on business entity and looking at the larger picture of development of the game, because that's what you're supposed to do also, then take a hit. I mean, it won't be an hit, even a hit when you consider BCCI resources, because if you look at BCCI's revenue and money and the BCCI economy as such, it would be larger than many of the Indian states, some of the Indian states over there, the kind of money that we are talking about. So it's not a handout that's been considered here because this is, again, a long-term plan where the women's game would, in the long run, become attractive enough to add to the BCCI revenue assets. But you can't think about that and not get into it, right? Because at the start, if you say whether it's feasible now or viable now, then that becomes a stumbling block in itself. Because as far as game development is concerned, you can't develop it overnight. We at the men's game also, when you look at the 80s, Indian men's team, I mean, it was not exactly a revenue spinner that way. And the 90s, the explosion happened and slowly and slowly and steadily, BCCI grew in stature so that the Indian could get seen. And it took a good part of 20 years, two decades to achieve that. And imagine if early 90s over was at the helm, Jagmohan Dalmia plus Isbindra. Imagine if they had thought that, let's not push the national team that much, we don't think it's financially viable. Because at that point, they were paying the donation to broadcast the matches because the other way around. And if, no, we can't pay this much, no, let's not broadcast, let's think about the viability, feasibility. Where would the men's team be? That's the whole point. Absolutely. And in this context, of course, the men's team is also heading to Australia soon. And there would probably have been collaborations possible in the women's cricket side as well. Yeah, so there have been criticisms from Australia. Australia anyways, in the women's cricket side, there have always been a slight tussle between India and Australia. And last year in fact, when the women's T20 challenge was held also it coincided with some tournament that the Australian board had planned. But this year also the tussle was supposedly for the World Cup T20 World Cup that was happening down under. And it was flashing with BCCI's grand plan of staging the IPL in the UAE in this period. And again, the women's Big Bash League, and that started late October and it's going on till the end of November. So the women's T20 challenge of IPL, it's flashing with that calendar. So we get this from Australia, like for instance, Alice Ely, who is the wicketkeeper batsman of Australia. She is very vocal on Twitter, criticizing, slightly being sarcastic also. You great, you conduct the tournament right when the women's Big Bash League is happening. So what does that is, they're completely negated participation of Australian players and Australian players are some of the best in the world. So in this women's T20 challenge, you have got players from across the world, English players are there, South African are there, some of the Indian players are there. And of course, Indians, the top Indian players. So, but you also kept away some of the best players of the generation who are playing the Big Bash League as well. It could have been easily avoided because the IPL started in September, second week of September, third week of September. And if at all this women's T20 challenge was staged at the early part of the IPL, because it's just a matter of staging. And the understanding between boards, the discussion had happened with cricket Australia where maybe you could get some teams or even players to participate in this thing. So at least the number of teams that are playing in the women's T20 challenge. In a spread out manner, slightly more matches. I'm not saying that conduct the matches on par with the men's game but slightly more matches so that our players also get that match time, because that is a big, big deal. And then as a return favour or as a return day line, there's no favour needed also because there is money at stake here. Of course, women's Big Bash League would have a larger stake in the Indian TV audience if Indian players are playing in the women's. So they would be interested in that as well. So, so as a return, when the WBBL is starting in October, you send some Indian players there or send a team which can be as a special case because these are unprecedented circumstances. And the idea is to give platform and give give a chance for the women's game to also play and survive and slightly nourish under these difficult circumstances. So this could have been easily achieved. It just needed some sporting and business diplomacy from both the board and also a farsighted vision and also setting the priorities right because now the men's team are travelling to Australia. So why couldn't the women's team? So that's a pertinent question. And at the same time, when you made all the effort to take these players to the UAE going through the 10-day, 14-day quarantine and you settle them in, you train them. And then so if I travel, my hometown is in Kerala. So if I travel to Kerala, so I go through my quarantine and whatever. And then what is my idea? I won't travel back to Delhi fast. I have gone through this, so might as well stay there longer, do some work there, whatever. Same logic applies here. You've gone through all the effort of taking these players there and it's just a matter of extending the state. So why just four matches? Make it a double round robin format and give them more chances to play. That is another aspect to this. So it's very clear from all these things that BCCI's idea of staging these four matches. At best it's PR gimmick and I don't see anything beyond that because the larger picture of doing something for the women's game as such, it's missing because it's just so frivolous. It's just touching the surface. You give them two matches in a year. I mean, technically that way, right? Because three matches in a year. The teams which reach the final get three matches to play. So the players in that, that's the maximum they get in a year. So how are you developing the game? And also when the men's team have traveled to Australia, what about the women's international matches? Of course, the old picture is different when it comes to the domestic talk because the men's domestic scene are also not being discussed as such. So that's the old difference in area. I'm not even getting there because that's even bleak the picture. And binding this, cricket is not the only sport that is doing injustice over here. When you look at football, ISL is going to start now on the 19th and there's no discussion about the women's team. I mean, football, again the same thing. On a normal year, the Indian women's league, it's just conducted as an after-tort. You won't believe it's conducted in the height of summer in North India. And the matches are in the day because floodlights add to the coast. Floodlights are not there. So the women play at 2pm, 3pm in April-May in North India. That tells you the picture. So that's football. So yeah, it would do well for these boards to just be less frivolous about such things and act or just don't put up the act that you are doing something great. Absolutely. Thank you so much, Leslie, for talking to us. That's all we have time for today. We'll be back tomorrow with more news from the country and the world. Until then, keep watching NewsClick.