Women's cricket progressed more than men's since 2019: Sourav Ganguly

The auction for the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024 was held on Saturday with 30 of the 165 players sold to franchises. Following the tournament's overwhelming success in 2023, this will be the WPL's second edition. Harmanpreet Kaur-led Mumbai Indians won the first edition.

"The progress that women's cricket in India has made since 2019 is perhaps more than the men's team. The men's team has always been very, very good. But from where the women's team was to where they went, from winning the Asia Cup, the way they played in the World Cups, then the Commonwealth Games," Sourav Ganguly told Jio Cinema.

The Indian women's cricket team has a strong record in the Women's Asia Cup, having won it several times. They won for the first time in 2004 and went on to win in the following years: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, and 2016. In 2018, however, they finished second behind Bangladesh, who won the championship. The Indian team triumphed in the 2022 edition, their seventh title in this important tournament.

Ganguly lauded players including Harmanpreet, Smriti, Richa, Jemimah, and Shafali.

"When Jhulan finished, we thought where the next seamer would come from, and then the way Renuka Thakur has developed over the last three years. So, that's the best thing about women's cricket," Ganguly said.

The current Delhi Capitals Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly said that the team already had a great squad last year and newly-bought players are a great addition to it. He also expressed hope that the team will play as good as it did last season in which they reached the finals.

Speaking about the exciting additions to the squad, Ganguly said as per a statement by the franchise, "The staff wanted Sutherland, Aparna and Ashwani, that is what we discussed at the auction, and we got them. The squad has been good since last year, so it is an addition. Hopefully, we play well as we did last year."

Ganguly added, "We are a good side and it is the continuity of players who have performed well. Our Indian players are really good, and some of them who were part of us last year have now gone up a step higher to be in the national team, so that is also an additional advantage." (ANI)