Women’s red-ball domestic cricket returns to India; BCCI announce resumption of Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy after five years

Indian-Women-Team. (Photo Source: X/BCCI)

After a prolonged absence, red-ball cricket finally returns to women’s domestic circuit in India, as the Board of Control for Cricket in India has announced the resumption of the tournament. It was in 2018 when a red-ball tournament was held in India and after a five-year gap, the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy will begin on March 28, 2024. The fixtures of the games are set to be held in Pune, Maharashtra.

Notably, India recently won two back-to-back Tests against England and Australia, which might have motivated the officials to bring back red-ball cricket in its calendar. Meanwhile, multiple players across the globe have expressed their interest to play more of multi-day cricket and BCCI wants to stay ready with multiple players in the loop for a surge of women’s red-ball matches in the coming times.

Senior batter and vice-captain of the Indian team Smriti Mandhana previously mentioned that players’ bodies are not accustomed to playing multi-day games and this decision of BCCI can play a part in making players ready for the red-ball assignments in the future.

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Inter-Zonal tournament fixtures set to be 3-day affairs

The upcoming tournament will be hosted by the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA), with East Zone taking on North East Zone and West Zone playing against Central Zone in the Qualifiers. On the other hand, North Zone and South Zone have been placed in the semi-finals straight away and will meet the winners of the first two fixtures from April 3. The final of the competition will be played from April 9.

It is noteworthy to mention that historically, the fixtures have been held as a two-day affair, but the apex cricketing body in the country has decided to change it to three-days. The tournament will be a testing to the fitness of all the players, who don’t get enough opportunities to play competitive cricket. Players who are a part of the ongoing Women’s Premier League are expected to have better fitness levels, but the same may not be said about domestic players, as most of them don’t have enough experience of playing for three days straight.