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Aussies overlooked in women's IPL squads

3 minute read

Australia won't have a representative in the all-star women's Twenty20 cricket series that will staged in India.

Alyssa Healy
Alyssa Healy Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

Australia's Twenty20 World Cup champions have been overlooked in an upcoming women's exhibition series that will be played alongside the men's Indian Premier League finals.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has revealed the three squads that will take part in the four-match series, which will be held in Japiur on May 6-11.

There isn't a single Australian among the 39 players, a list that includes stars from England, New Zealand and West Indies.

A one-off IPL exhibition match was staged last year and Australia fielded the largest overseas contingent, with Meg Lanning, Megan Schutt, Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney making the trip.

Australian players are required to be in Brisbane for an Ashes training camp that starts on May 13.

However, Cricket Australia's female high performance manager Shawn Flegler indicated last month he expects the governing body will be supportive of Australians taking part in IPL exhibition matches.

Last year's game was hailed as a success by all involved, with players and officials around the world hoping the BCCI will soon launch a standalone women's tournament.

Healy and Lanning indicated last month they would jump at the chance to return to India this year and play more T20 fixtures alongside the world's best.

"One hundred per cent," Healy said.

"It would be fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed that experience.

"It (a domestic tournament in India) probably the next step for the women's game in the T20 format, so if that gets up and running that's really exciting.

"I'm sure a lot of the girls would be willing to stick their hand up for it."

The game in 2018 was played as a curtain-raiser to a men's IPL match but this year's series will feature stand-alone matches.

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