The Women’s T20 World Cup is fast approaching and yet the Women’s Premier League that follows it in March is the talk of the town. Television rights sold for £95m with players set to earn in excess of six figures. This Indian revolution, to use a cliche, will be a gamechanger.

Looking on at its formation with interest is the England captain, Heather Knight, and for a couple of reasons. Not only will the 32-year-old’s name be in the forthcoming auction – an unimaginable scenario when she started playing boy’s cricket at Plymstock CC in Devon, aged eight – but because it is a topic she knows better than most.

Before departing for South Africa at the start of last week, and a World Cup campaign that will look to break Australia’s recent dominance, starting against West Indies on 11 February, Knight was finishing off a dissertation on this very subject: how the rise of franchise cricket will affect the women’s game. It was the final submission for a master’s in leadership in sport at the Institute of Sports Humanities, with Ed Smith, the former men’s national selector, the course director marking her work. Before pressing send, Knight discussed the year ahead and cricket’s dramatically changing landscape.

“I think the women’s IPL will be a great thing for the game,” says Knight, fresh from a chilly pre-World Cup training session at the England and Wales Cricket Board’s performance centre in Loughborough. “It could really kickstart things in other countries. Already with the Hundred, the ECB are thinking: ‘How are we going to match this?’

“But there are some possible negatives, if it’s not handled properly. The differences in pay and professionalism around the world are way more stark in the women’s game compared to the men’s. There also isn’t the same depth in talent for a number of countries. There is the Hundred, the Big Bash, the FairBreak T20, maybe a Pakistan Super League – if a few of their semi-professional players go fully freelance, that will affect the international game a lot.

“The best place you can be is both international and domestic cricket thriving. But you need a good solid plan of how that looks for all countries, not like the men’s game where it has just been allowed to happen without any direction. The women’s game will change far quicker as a result of this.”

With her captaincy cap on, Knight is also mindful of how the likely injection of cash into various pockets could affect England’s World Cup campaign. The expectation is that, come auction day, her players could be split into haves and have-nots. With £1.1m per 15-strong squad and seven overseas slots, salaries may well eclipse central contracts for some and differ to the pecking order of the national setup.

“We have to see it as a bonus,” Knight says, after explaining the reserve prices for capped players that sit between £25,000 and £40,000. “It will create a different dynamic, because the idea of being in an auction is so new to the women’s game. Being able to manage that as individuals and a group will be vital.

“Our head coach, Jon Lewis, brings knowledge of this from the men’s game. Our team doctor was saying the other day he was on a men’s tour where they sat down to watch a draft or auction together and it massively derailed them. I see my role as looking after the younger players, keeping them on track and grounded.”

England have certainly had a recent injection of youth, much of it when Knight was sidelined by a hip injury last summer. Lauren Bell has pepped up the attack, while a power player such as the 18-year-old Alice Capsey could fly at auction. The latter’s importance to England is underlined by her presence in the World Cup squad while still recovering from the broken collarbone suffered in Antigua last month.

That tour was an uncompetitive 8-0 Caribbean cruise, which underlined Knight’s point about the depth – and finances – outside Australia, England and India. But it was not without positives. Nat Sciver and Katherine Brunt returned strongly after time out for personal reasons, while Knight began life alongside Lewis – her third head coach as captain – amid a drive to “free up” players for a more aggressive outlook.

It feels the way to go with Australia having won the last four global titles since Knight lifted the 50-over World Cup at Lord’s in 2017. “I don’t think there’s a huge difference,” she insists, “and in T20 the gap is the smallest. It’s maybe just that injuries or absences affect us more; they have a lot of depth after eight years of the Women’s Big Bash League.”

Meg Lanning’s defending champions are in Group A, with India representing England’s immediate threat on the other side of the draw. Their encounter in Gqeberha on 18 February has some added spice, too. A 3-0 ODI series defeat to Harmanpreet Kaur’s side last summer ended in controversial fashion when Deepti Sharma ran out Charlie Dean at the non-striker’s end at Lord’s to spark a fierce Mankad debate.

“I think it’s going to be built up as a grudge match but we can’t look at it like that,” Knight says. “What happened, happened. We’ve had a lot of success against them, especially in World Cups and when we beat them 3-0 in the Twenty20 series before those ODIs. The only focus will be on performance.”

Though injured at the time, Knight joined the debate about Dean’s dismissal when, in response to Sharma saying she had warned the then 21-year-old about backing up, she posted on Twitter that the Indian all-rounder was “lying”. “Yeah, that was quite strong in hindsight,” admits Knight, wincing. “Reflecting on it, and knowing Deepti well, it was probably a slip of the tongue. For me it was about protecting a young player.”

Is her team now considering that mode of dismissal? “I think there has to be a rule that stops [the non-striker stealing ground]. It divides opinion but it’s not something we’re looking to do unless someone is taking the piss. And it’s something we’re going to talk about being mindful of, because it’s a stupid way to get out.”

Along with the T20 World Cup and the new WPL, 2023 takes on even greater significance with a multi-format Ashes in parallel with the men this summer. Ticket sales are strong – more than 14,000 sold for the first T20 at Edgbaston – and Knight is hoping her side emulates the impact of Leah Williamson’s footballers last year.

“It’s something we’ve spoken about as a group,” says Knight. “Watching the Lionesses and the shot in the arm for the sport was remarkable – we want a piece of that. Winning the World Cup in 2017 did a bit but with the Hundred now, it feels like the landscape is more prepared for something similar.

“The Ashes will be our most visible series ever. I really like the fact it’s being marketed together with the men’s. There are no clashes, it brings the teams together and just normalises England cricket as one. If they’re separate, and you’re watching as a kid, you become ingrained to put the men’s game on a pedestal.”

After seven years and 139 matches in charge, Knight’s drive appears strong. There has been just one wobble along the way, early last year after a draining, Covid-restricted three-month tour of Australia and New Zealand. “I thought: ‘I’m not sure I can do this any more,’” she says. “The pandemic was serious hard work as captain. I know Joe [Root] found it the same.”

While Root called time, Knight ploughed on and was re-energised by the new faces. But last summer’s absence exposed a lack of alternatives, and though Sciver, possibly reluctant to step up in the past, is back as vice-captain, Knight wants more leaders. “It’s not about a successor, more players dictating the direction, not always looking to the coaches,” she says. “I still feel I can make an impact as captain. I’d never say never about going back into the ranks but it’s not something I have thought about.”

As a batter who goes on “feel” rather than technical precision, Knight also fancies she is on the verge of a return to her best. As such, with the dissertation now in, a sport about to dramatically change means there is no rush to think about the next chapter.