South Africa women U19 team performance has been disappointing in this world cup. I was expecting them to be in the top 2 ranking within their group. It seems the Indian team is far better than the South African team. Most of these girls will now be part of the player auction for WIPL. If they win the world cup then they would be handsomely rewarderd by the BCCI. I still doubt they will reach the finals.
I am not sure whether U19 players will get picked up by the WIPL franchises. In men's IPL we rarely see anyone from the U19 squad. Notable exceptions are Dewald Brevis and Kamlesh Nagarkoti. And we have just 5 franchises for the WIPL, and there are slots for 70 to 90 players in total. How many U19 players will get picked up? I am not expecting anything more than 1-2. BTW, I am still waiting for the announcement from BCCI regarding WIPL franchises since today morning. I guess the bidding is taking a lot of time and some of the corporates are ready to spend crazy amounts.
Generally, the under 19 players have to prove themselves a lot more to get themselves into the IPL. Unless they are a really rare category that is in demand. Like if there is a very good Batman or a very good leg spin bowler who is doing really well, he is supposed to get a chance. And he/she will have to be very good. Personally, I do not think any under 19 players are going to get a chance in the women's IPL.
This group has 3 strong teams (Australia +India +South Africa) and Bangladesh is very competitive, that's why tough fight in the group.
The next group is for minnow bashing and for Kiwis + Poms it's just routine matches.
I was actually a little surprised to see the performance of the Bangladesh women's team. I did not think that I am going to see this type of performance from Bangladesh under 19 women. At the same time, this shows how much the team can do well if they are nurtured properly.
Guys.. the BCCI has reaped yet another windfall from the WIPL auctions. 5 franchises are as follows:
Adani Group - Ahmedabad: ₹1,289 crore
Mumbai Indians: ₹913 crore
Delhi Capitals: ₹810 crore
Royal Challengers Bangalore: ₹902 crore
Capri Global - Lucknow: ₹757 crore
The auctions fetched a record sum of ₹4,670 crore ($573 million) for the BCCI, which is around 7 times higher than the estimates made by various media analysts.
This is certainly a very good sign for the women's IPL. It also feels like India is giving good importance to the women's IPL. This is obviously going to be good for the future of Indian women's cricket. And I also feel like the popularity of women's cricket is going to increase especially after this IPL. Obviously, it is not going to be as good as men's IPL, but it is what it is.