Host of International Stars to Feature in Women's IPL Exhibition Match

The One-off women’s Indian Premier League (IPL) styled exhibition match in Mumbai next week. It will witness the host of world’s best players featuring in it. The game will be held on May 22, ahead of the IPL 2018 Qualifier 1st in Mumbai. Indian stars Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the two teams.

They will be joined by some of the biggest names in women’s cricket. Moreover, a total of eight overseas players will join the local players.

From Australia, Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy, Megan Schutt and Beth Mooney will be featuring in the much-awaited game. From England, Danielle Wyatt and Danielle Hazell will be playing the game. Also on the board are New Zealand guns Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine.

The rule of playing eleven will be same as that of IPL. The team will be made up of seven Indians and four overseas players.

The game is seen as a big step towards increasing the popularity of women’s cricket in India. The women’s game has seen a wave of popularity in the country following India’s run to the final of World Cup. India’s women team featured in the grand finale, last year in the United Kingdom (UK).

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With an eye on growing this wave, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is hosting the Twenty20 Challenge to provide the women’s game a platform.

A good experience in the upcoming game might convince BCCI to come up for a women’s tournament on the lines of IPL.

“We are excited to announce the first-of-its-kind exhibition match involving our women cricketers,” BCCI.tv BCCI committee member Diana Edulji.

“BCCI has been pulling out all stops to promote and nurture women’s cricket. 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. It has been a long-time endeavour to have a women’s league that can match the exuberance of IPL,” she added.

Edulji believes it would be exciting to see the host players joining the foreign players for the first time in the same team particularly in India for the exhibition match.

“Mithali, Jhulan, Harmanpreet, Smriti, and Veda among others rubbing shoulders with foreign stars will be a unique experience. Something that we have not witnessed here in India,” she further said.

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