The inter-zonal tournament comprising five three-day matches is scheduled to take place in Pune from March 28 to April 11.
Red-ball cricket for women will return to India's domestic calendar after a six-year hiatus when the BCCI conducts its Senior Women's Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy in Pune from March 28. The last domestic red-ball tournament for women in India was held in 2018, consisting of two-day matches.
This development follows India's recent back-to-back victories in one-off Tests against England and Australia in December 2023. India played Tests during their tours of England and Australia in 2021. However, the last time India played a women's Test match and hosted one in India was in 2014 when South Africa toured.
The Maharashtra Cricket Association will host the matches, with the East Zone vs North East Zone and West Zone vs Central Zone fixtures starting the action. The North and South Zones have advanced to the semi-finals by drawing lots. They will face the winners of the first two games starting on April 3. The final match will take place on April 9. All matches will be three-day events.
The tournament will start in just over ten days after the final of the ongoing second edition of the WPL, which is scheduled for March 17 in Delhi.
There has been a recent clamour for more women's Test matches to be organised, as currently only occasional Test matches are played, featuring Australia, England, India, and South Africa. For India, this means playing a format of the game in which they have little experience.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Test against England in December, Smriti Mandhana said:
"[Our] bodies are not used to playing four back-to-back days of cricket because we generally play T20s and ODIs which have gaps. More than the physical part, being there [on the field] for four days mentally, trying to focus on each ball [is important]."
Previously, she expressed hope that the BCCI would restart the women's domestic red-ball competition, stating that a new domestic tournament for long-form cricket may emerge as the number of Tests increases.
Meg Lanning has taken a stronger stance on the matter, stating that preparing for a Test match is challenging, as they only play once every two years in her career. She suggested that playing more cricket matches would lead to better contests and a greater understanding of the game among players. Alternatively, she proposed focusing solely on short-format games.