BCCI to conduct women's red-ball tournament from March

New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has devised a plan to introduce women's red-ball cricket within the country by organising a multi-day competition, say reports.

The tournament is set to take place soon after the conclusion of the ongoing Women's Premier League (WPL), which will conclude on March 17.

It kickstarts on March 29 in Pune and will feature teams representing six zones - East, West, North, South, Central, and NorthEast - competing in a series of five matches, a Cricbuzz report said.

The tournament will commence with two quarterfinals set to take place simultaneously on March 29, 30, and 31. Following this stage, the championship will advance to two semifinals, expected to be held concurrently on April 5, 6, and 7. The tournament's grand final is scheduled for April 9, 10, and 11. However wo teams directly seeded in the semifinals remained unknown at the time, the report added.

This three-day spectacle will act as a crucial evaluation to ascertain the BCCI's ability to effectively motivate players to partake in domestic events, mirroring the board's endeavours to ensure that male players accord the same significance to domestic competitions such as the Ranji Trophy as they do to the IPL and international cricket.