Gujarat Giants, one of the five franchises slated to compete in the first Women’s Premier League, has hired former India captain Mithali Raj as a mentor and advisor (WPL). Raj, who has amassed the most runs in women’s cricket history, has been one of the league’s most vocal supporters of an IPL-style women’s franchise league in India. In her capacity as mentor and advisor to the Giants, Raj will also help to develop women’s cricket at the grassroots level in Gujarat, the team’s home state.
In a media release, Raj stated that “women’s cricket is expanding gradually, and this kind of push will surely encourage young women to consider taking up cricket professionally.” “I think that corporate involvement with a high degree of influence will speed India’s eventual rise to greater glory. This kind of power can improve possibilities for female athletes and empower the sporting community.”
“Mithali Raj is a role model for the next generation, and we are happy to have such an inspirational athlete on board to mentor our women’s cricket squad,” said Pranav Adani, Director of Adani Enterprises, which oversees Giants’ owners Adani Sportsline.
“We think that the presence of worldwide athletic icons like Mithali will draw new talent into every sport, not just cricket.”
The most expensive team competing in the league was acquired by Adani Sportsline, the sports development arm of the Adani Group, on January 25 for INR 1289 crore (about USD 158 million). The squad is situated in Ahmedabad. Adani Group, Capri Global, who purchased the Lucknow club, and the owners of the Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Royal Challengers Bangalore collectively spent INR 4669.99 crore (about USD 572.78 million) to purchase the rights to the five WPL franchises.
The Women’s Premier League (WPL) is most likely to take place from March 4 to March 24; this is a condensed time period sandwiched between the Women’s T20 World Cup, which ends in late February, and the men’s IPL, which is scheduled to begin one week after the women’s competition. The INR 12 crore (about USD 1.46 million) (per team) auction purses for the WPL are scheduled for early February.
Each team is allowed to purchase up to 18 players, including seven from outside the United States, one of whom must be from an Associate nation. Contrary to the men’s IPL, WPL teams will be able to field up to five foreign players in the starting XI, given that one of them comes from an Associate side.
The WPL 2023 will consist of 22 matches, with each side playing the other twice for a total of eight games per team. The top-ranked team advances directly to the final, while the teams in second and third place compete in a qualifying round to select the second finalist.
