Australia’s opening batter Alyssa Healy has said that there is no need for domestic competitions clashing against each other when it comes to women’s cricket. The Women’s T20 Challenge will be played in the UAE in the playoff week of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the tournament is set to clash with the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).

With both tournaments clashing against each other, the availability of the overseas players for the Indian competition is a big reason to worry.

“The women’s game is naturally different from the men’s game. Sometimes, decisions that are made at the top level for the men’s game doesn’t necessarily reflect what we need within women’s cricket. Hopefully, the boards are deciding what’s best for the women’s game because it is actually best for the women’s game,” ESPNCricinfo quoted Healy as saying.

When the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that Women’s T20 Challenge will indeed be going ahead, Healy was one of the most prominent stars to voice her displeasure over the tournament clashing with WBBL.

“Personally, why I was so vocal about that clash was that there’s no need for domestic competitions around the world to clash in the women’s game at the moment. There’s plenty of time throughout the year to schedule these events,” Healy said.

“For me, personally, it’s something I will absolutely love to be involved in, but I have got a WBBL to be part of and, for me, that’s the premier domestic competition in the world right now for T20 cricket. And, for me, I can’t turn down a contract like that to be able to go elsewhere to play in another domestic competition,” she added.

The Women’s T20 Challenge was played for the very first time in 2018 and in a one-off match, the Supernovas were able to outclass the TrailBlazers.

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Then, in 2019, the BCCI organised a three-team tournament instead of a one-off match, featuring a new team called Velocity along with Trailblazers and Supernovas.

This year, the Women’s T20 Challenge will be played with three teams and it will go ahead in the playoffs week of the IPL.