"I have set a target for the women's team that by 2020 they should be No. 1 in the world,"
Anurag Thakur, BCCI Chief
AFP
New Delhi
India's newly elected cricket chief Anurag Thakur has laid out an action plan for the women's team to attain world-beating status alongside their male counterparts in the next four years.
While the Indian men's team is rated among the top sides in the world, its women's counterpart continues to lag behind.
"I have set a target for the women's team that by 2020 they should be No. 1 in the world," Thakur, who was elected president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last month, told ESPN Cricinfo in an interview Wednesday.
The Mithali Raj-led Indian women's team is currently ranked fourth in the world, behind dominating sides Australia, England and New Zealand.
Hosts India recently failed to make the semi-final cut in this year's World Twenty20 women's edition, which was won by the West Indies in Kolkata.
The BCCI also said it would allow female cricketers to play in Twenty20 tournaments like the Women's Big Bash League in Australia, giving them the chance to get familiar with overseas conditions.
According to the women's cricket committee, which met in Mumbai on Wednesday, players will be permitted to participate in the overseas leagues subject to contracts being offered through the BCCI.
Meanwhile, India's women cricketers can now play in overseas leagues in Australia and England, subject to their contracts being approved by the BCCI. The decision paves the way for India's players to take part in tournaments such as the Women's Big Bash League in Australia and the Women's Super League in England.
The BCCI's announcement may have come too late, however, for Indian participation in the inaugural WSL, which will be held this year from July 30 to August 14. The BCCI had yet to decide on the issue when the ECB sent a letter to all Full Members seeking their permission to enlist players. The ECB signed up 18 overseas players - from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies - and unveiled its final squad lists in April. Indian players were also absent from the inaugural WBBL.
