Women”s T20 challenge is all set to be played at the iconic Wankhede stadium at Mumbai prior to the Qualifier 1. BCCI has taken this decision after the huge fan following for women”s cricket since the 2017 world cup at England.
The rules of this game are likely to be based on IPL guidelines. Harmanpreet and Smriti Mandhana have been named skippers and this match will also witness few International stars from Australia, New Zealand and England.
The chairman of BCCI Rajiv Shukla said “Even as IPL continues to roll like a well-oiled machine, over the last couple of weeks, efforts were made to put in place a similar structure for women cricketers. We were in talks with several Boards and I am pleased with the outcome. This special game will be played at Mumbai”s iconic Wankhede Stadium and will be telecast live in India and across the world.”
“We are excited to announce the first-of-its-kind exhibition match involving our women cricketers. BCCI has been pulling out all stops to promote and nurture women”s cricket and this is a small yet significant step towards a prospective league involving women”s stars in the future. The IPL is the biggest and most popular league in the world and it has been a long-time endeavour to have a women”s league that can match the exuberance of IPL,” said Diana Edulji, former India captain and member of the Committee of Administrators
Shukla also confirmed the presence of Suzie Bates, Sophie Divine, Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy, Megan Schutt, Beth Mooney, Danielle Wyatt and Daniel hazel in the match. It will be really interesting to see how Indian women blend with the international cricketers and contribute to the growth of women”s T20 league.
The match will commence at 2:00 pm IST on May 22nd. It is to be noted that IPL Qualifier 1 match will be played at this venue after this match (7 pm).