'We Are Not Giving Exposure To Girls': Smriti Mandhana Bats For Women's IPL In Ashwin's Talk Show

"It's high time, people understand that every sport is a men's as well as a women's sport," said Mandhana in the interview.

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India's champion batter, Smriti Mandhana has expressed her opinion on the lack of 'exposure' for women's cricket in India. She pointed out that despite having enough players to conduct a 5-6 team IPL, there are no concrete efforts taken to go ahead with it. 

Mandhana was speaking with Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel. She referred to other tournaments like the Women's Big Bash League of Australia and women's Hundred League of England. Mandhana was playing for Southern Brave in the Hundred when she opted out with just two matches remaining due to 'personal reasons'.

"In women's cricket, we have not had any competitions or any T20 tournaments, so how can we know if we have any depth or not? I think we have enough for a 5 or 6 team tournament so that we can eventually build towards an 8-team tournament. Until we start, we are not giving any exposure to girls to move to the next level," said Mandhana on Ashwin's channel. (As quoted by Sportskeeda) 

Well played Smriti Mandhana, 78 runs from 52 balls including 7 fours and 3 sixes, this is the second fifty of Smriti Mandhana in the Hundred League. pic.twitter.com/NPrAlFZWTY

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 11, 2021

"When the men's IPL started, there were the same number of states (in the men's and women's game) and the quality went higher as they played. IPL today isn't the same as it was 10 or 11 years ago. I think it's the same for women's cricket," said Mandhana expressing her dissatisfaction. 

Mandhana also suggested that BCCI could organise a 5-6 team Women's IPL which eventually can become an 8-team event. "I think we have enough girls in the states to start a 5-6 team tournament at least. We can then gradually build our way to an 8-team tournament," she continued.