The Indian board may organise a women's league based on the Indian Premier League (IPL) format depending on the success of the tournament scheduled to be played in April.

"We are planning matches on the basis of the IPL," Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, said in Mumbai, where he was attending the first-ever women's Challenger Trophy. The IPL is an international Twenty20 competition that will feature teams, operated as franchises, and players from across the world.

Shubhangi Kulkarni, the convenor of the BCCI's women's committee, felt Twenty20 would be an addition to the women's game. "We have already begun playing two-day games, along with 50-over ones, so Twenty20 will be just an addition," she told Cricinfo. "Next year a women's Twenty20 World Cup will be organised and possibly played alongside the men's tournament. So this is clearly the game of the future and we need to play it."

But she was more cautious in answering questions regarding the proposed league. "We are at an early stage and still discussing the concept," she said. "The idea to introduce it [the cricket league] is there and we will have to put it forward in the board meeting."

Last season has been a favourable one for women's cricket in India, with the board doubling the budget for domestic cricket, announcing two-day tournaments for women and organising a coaching camp exclusively for women coaches at the National Cricket Academy. A women's Twenty20 between Asia and Africa was also played as a curtain-raiser to a similar men's fixture last August during the Afro-Asia Cup.

That the popular Twenty20 format could be used to further the cause of women's cricket will only boost the game and its players some more.