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Cricket

“The WPL will ensure the growth of multi-genre sport among women,” says BCCI Secretary Jay Shah

After a historic Women’s Premier League 2023 auction in which 449 players from across the world went under the tender, we now have a notion of how the five squads will appear in the debut WPL season, which begins in March.

There were 15-18 places to fill, and the majority of the teams had all sets covered. Women’s cricket in India is growing at a breakneck speed, and with India winning the inaugural ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, the game has become even more serious from a female standpoint.

Smriti Mandhana entered the auction as the first name and went away with the most money in her purse. Several U-19 world cup champions were also approached yesterday, and the countdown to the inaugural WPL has already begun. Meanwhile, following the sale, the BCCI held a news conference and discussed the future of women’s sport in India.

The Women’s Premier League, according to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah, will create a precedent for other sports to follow, just as the men’s Indian Premier League did, and it will transform the way people view women’s cricket.

On Monday, the auction for the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) edition was completed successfully. According to Jay Shah, the WPL was founded not just to provide a platform for women in India and throughout the world to exhibit and polish their cricket skills, but also to motivate the next generation of women to pursue a career in professional sports.

“The WPL is going to revolutionize the way we look at women’s cricket. The huge success of the WPL auction has not only allowed many prospective talents to showcase their skills on the big stage but also for young budding cricketers to take centerstage on a global level. The reception from fans around the world has been overwhelmingly positive and this will only continue to grow as the league matures. The WPL will set a template for other sports to follow suit. We saw what happened with the men’s IPL and how other sporting leagues cropped up after 2008. The WPL will ensure the growth of multi-genre sport among women,” Shah told reporters.

“Without a ball being bowled, the WPL is the largest sporting league. With women’s cricket well on its way to cement itself in mainstream sports, the WPL will only fortify the ecosystem around women’s cricket. The initial response to the WPL has definitely showcased the potential the league has to become the biggest women’s domestic sporting tournament,” concluded Shah.

The first season of the WPL will be contested in Mumbai from March 4 to 26 across two Mumbai locations, with the player auction taking place on February 13. There were 1,525 participants that registered for the first WPL auction, and the final list was reduced to 409 players. The five franchises — Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Delhi Capitals — were purchased for a total of INR 4669.99 crore by the three IPL clubs’ owners, Adani Group, and Capri Global.

Squads of WPL teams:

  • Delhi Capitals: Jemimah Rodrigues, Meg Lanning, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Marizanne Kapp, Titas Sadhu, Alice Capsey, Tara Norris, Laura Harris, Jasia Akhtar, Minnu Mani, Poonam Yadav, Taniya Bhatia. Jess Jonassen, Sneha Deepthi, Arundhati Reddy, Aparna Mondal.
  • Gujarat Giants: Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Sophia Dunkley, Annabel Sutherland, Harleen Deol, Deandra Dottin, Sneh Rana, S Meghana, Georgia Wareham, Mansi Joshi, Dayalan Hemalatha, Monica Patel, Tanuja Kanwer, Sushma Verma, Hurley Gala, Ashwani Kumari, Parunika Sisodia, Shabman Shakil.
  • Mumbai Indians: Harmanpreet Kaur, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar, Yastika Bhatia, Heather Graham, Issy Wong, Amanjot Kaur, Dhara Gujjar, Saika Ishaque, Hayley Matthews, Chloe Tryon, Priyanka Bala, Humairaa Kaazi, Neelam Bisht, Jintamani Kalita, Sonam Yadav.
  • Royal Challengers Bangalore: Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Indrani Roy, Disha Kasat, Shreyanka Patil, Kanika Ahuja, Asha Shobhana, Erin Burns, Heather Knight, Dane van Niekerk, Preeti Bose, Poonam Khemnar, Komal Zanzad, Megan Schutt, Sahana Pawar.
  • UP Warriorz: Sophie Ecclestone, Deepti Sharma, Tahlia McGrath, Shabnim Ismail, Alyssa Healy, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Parshavi Chopra, Shweta Sehrawat, S Yashasri, Kiran Navgire, Grace Harris, Devika Vaidya, Lauren Bell, Laxmi Yadav, Simran Shaikh.

 

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