WPL 2025: Indian women cricketers need to step up like the men in IPL

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This is the T20 cricket season in full swing, after the highs of the Champions Trophy win. On Saturday evening, the WPL will climax at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, with Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians battling for honours.

For those who have been shouting women's cricket needs more exposure and a platform to excel, the WPL is coming to an end in its third season. By no yardstick has it grabbed eyeballs this year.

Before women's cricket fans treat this as something personal or an assault, for the WPL to become noticeable and grab eyeballs means performances have to be riveting. That has not happened this time.

Compare the state of Indian women's cricket today with what it was a few years back, so many changes have happened for the better. Women cricketers cannot complain about lack of facilities or being treated shabbily. For those who will recall the days when Indian women had to go to Australia and perform in the BBL (Big Bash League) to get noticed, performances in the WPL in 2025 have not been great.

Take the case of Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The results they produced this time was prosaic. Given the massive fan base for the Bengaluru men and women, unless the teams perform, nobody is going to watch them.

Yes, fans will turn up to see the WPL final or tune in to it today, but the women have not been able to make heads turn this time by way of performance. Before anyone says the Champions Trophy was an overlap with the WPL, that's bunkum.

The WPL is here to stay for sure, but if its growth has to happen, cricketers themselves have to step up. It has to happen across teams for the growth of the WPL, and how franchises can make it more viable, and corporates can also see it as something meaningful to invest in further.

It was nice to see a few women players exchange more than pleasantries with Hardik Pandya on Friday in Mumbai. If these cricketers see Hardik as a role model and someone who sets an example by way of performance, that is good. In less than week, Hardik Pandya will be piloting the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

For those who think both the men's and women's teams of Mumbai are at par on popularity, it may be true. But the women will have to step up in the WPL as well as for India when they play major international competitions.

To be sure, five years ago, people in India said the IPL was ruining Indian cricket. That was untrue. The IPL has produced champions in batting, bowling and fielding. The bar has been raised and players from the IPL have been able to break into the national aside, across formats. Take the examples of Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy and a few more, they came from the IPL stables. One needs to see the same rub-off effect in the WPL as well where Indians can set the stage on fire.

Make no mistake, if the standard of women's cricket has to go up in India, it is in the hands of the cricketers. The BCCI, team owners and corporates have lent more than a helping hand.