Women's international and franchise cricket must 'coexist', says ICC's Snehal Pradhan

It used to be a Cold War slogan. Now it's the mantra of the International Cricket Council (ICC), as it determines how the new Women's Premier League - which kicked off in Mumbai on Saturday - will impact the existing women's cricket schedule.

"We need to learn from how things have been over the past 10 years in men's football - this is an opportunity for us to to move forward and ensure that there is coexistence between these leagues and international cricket,” says Snehal Pradhan, Head of Women's Cricket at ICC.

The WPL's huge salary has raised concerns that the league could eventually replace international women's cricket and eliminate some of the world's biggest talents.

England players Sophie Ecclestone (£180,000) and Alice Capsey (£75,000) both receive payouts well above value from their central ECB contracts (about £60,000 a year). Nat Sciver-Brunt, who pocketed £320,000, is sure to be the highest paid female athlete in the UK this year.

But Pradhan says she doesn't see the league as a threat to international cricket: "One thing I can say for sure is that there is great national pride in representing your country and I think it's not going away soon.

"In the hearts of gamers , international cricket is front and center as things stand.

"We have already have a Future Tours [FTP] program until 2025, which ensures that international cricket is scheduled and that all leagues that come up work with this schedule."

The very first Female FTP was unveiled last August, expos ant the obligations for all parties until the end of April 2025.

It includes windows for The Hundred, the Women's Big Bash League in Australia and the WPL - but not for the new women's leagues in the Caribbean and Pakistan, nor for the FairBreak Invitational.

"The narrative of international cricket competing with franchise cricket is very strong in the men's game because the schedule is much busier," Pradhan said.

"In women's cricket only a few countries choose to play test cricket and this makes the competition for time not as great."

The Women's T20 World Cup and the first Under-15 World Cup 19 in South Africa showcased the recent growth of women's cricket.

A total of 69,914 people attended the T20 World Cup matches, while - in a country where interest in women's sport remains low - there was a record crowd of 12,782 for the final in Newlands.

"It was a very, very satisfying tournament," says Pradhan. "The icing on the cake was the home team in the final and the fact that we filled Newlands."

Pradhan - who represented India between 2008 and 2011 - savored his native country's triumph at the U19 World Cup; but more so, the im...