Competition for WPL? Pakistan planning to launch women's franchise T20 league

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is planning to launch a franchise-based women's T20 league. Pakistan conducts the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which is their premier franchise-based T20 tournament. The PCB is now planning to start a women's T20 league that might mirror the PSL.

There are already multiple franchise-based women's T20 leagues around the world. While Australia conducts the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), India has the Women's Premier League (WPL), which kick-started in 2022 and has gained significant popularity after three successful seasons. Meanwhile, England conducts The Hundred Women's competition.

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Rafia Haider, the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board's women's wing, revealed that the board has decided to take a cautious approach towards planning the launch of the tournament, as they don't want to leave any stone unturned. Haider said PCB wants everyone to be on the same page before launching the tournament.

"It(franchise-based T20 tournament for women cricketers) is under discussion but not finalized as yet," Rafia told Cricbuzz.

"Of course it (the tournament) is going to be a huge move whenever it happens so we'll take everyone on board and do our homework properly before its fruition," she added.

BCCI started the Women's Premier League in 2022 with a vision to build an IPL-like competition for women cricketers. The tournament has since turned out to be a massive success with three successful seasons. WPL has showcased tremendous growth and has also been credited for unearthing new talent for India in women's cricket.

The WPL has also been credited for its role in India's maiden Women's ODI World Cup triumph earlier this year. Multiple members of India's Women's World Cup-winning team have been WPL regulars, where they fine-tuned their game while rubbing shoulders with the best players from across the globe.

Haider, who accompanied the Pakistan U-19 women's team on their recently concluded tour of Bangladesh, said the PCB is working towards developing women's cricket in Pakistan and has taken multiple initiatives for the same. Haider revealed PCB recently dedicated their High-Performance Centre in Karachi for their women's cricketers to help them train in a better way throughout the year.

"We are taking different initiatives to develop women's cricket in Pakistan. Recently we have dedicated the High-Performance Centre in Karachi for our Women's Cricket, where they attend their camps and train round the year. Women's U19 team was given separate team management and that HPC facility, where they prepared for the Bangladesh tour and we have seen good results right away. Separate team managements have been given to the national team and U19/emerging teams for focused player development," said Haider.

The Pakistan women's team endured a disappointing campaign at the Women's ODI World Cup 2025 earlier this year as they once again failed to make it to the knockout stage of the tournament. Pakistan finished at the bottom of the table with just 3 points from 7 matches as India lifted the elusive trophy.