NEW DELHI: India's newly elected cricket chief Anurag Thakur has laid out an action plan for the women's team to attain world-beating status alongside their male counterparts in the next four years.

While the Indian men's team is rated among the top sides in the world, its women's counterpart continues to lag behind.

“I have set a target for the women's team that by 2020 they should be No. 1 in the world,” Thakur, who was elected president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last month, told ESPN Cricinfo in an interview Wednesday.

The Mithali Raj-led Indian women's team is currently ranked fourth in the world, behind dominating sides Australia, England and New Zealand.

Hosts India recently failed to make the semi-final cut in this year's World Twenty20 women's edition, which was won by the West Indies in Kolkata.

The BCCI also said it would allow female cricketers to play in Twenty20 tournaments like the Women's Big Bash League in Australia, giving them the chance to get familiar with overseas conditions.

According to the women's cricket committee, which met in Mumbai on Wednesday, players will be permitted to participate in the overseas leagues subject to contracts being offered through the BCCI.