WPL 2023

Speaking ahead of the crucial encounter, Delhi Capitals Captain Meg Lanning said, "The WPL is massive for the women's game. This tournament will be a great platform for young girls coming up the ranks. The opportunity for young girls to watch their favourite players in action on TV is very crucial for the development of the game. Lanning, who is one of the legends of the game.

But less than two months ago, there was another very good opportunity that had been taken away from Hurley's hands. In January 2023, a laceration on her thumb ruled her out of India's victorious U19 Women's T20 World Cup campaign, a development which she admitted was very difficult for her to process. I am very excited to be a part of first-ever Women's Premier League.

The Adani Gujarat Giants' captain Beth Mooney, who recently won yet another Women's T20 World Cup title in South Africa with the Australian side, said that there has been a buzz amongst the players about the tournament. I think there is a good amount of excitement around and there was a little bit of a chat at the Women's T20 World Cup about what the WPL was going to look.

"I once said to a player's father, 'uncle, there's women's cricket, please let her play'. He would retort back with, 'What is the financial security? Even if you win, what will you get and who would recognise you'?" I saw this myself as had two-three friends who played really well. But their parents never supported them and their careers got over at the college level.

The idea behind the promo is crystal clear - cricketers have been household names in India for a long time. With the WPL, all set to begin from Saturday in Navi Mumbai, it will now make various women cricketers household names too, seen from initial matches being completely sold out. In the WPL running till March 26, 87 players will be participating.

"As a young kid, it is very difficult to talk to a senior. So my approach is always to go to them and talk to the youngsters. When I entered the team, Jhulu di (Jhulan Goswami) and Anjum di (Anjum Chopra) made me feel very comfortable and I'm trying to follow the same thing here," said India and Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet on the eve of the WPL opener.

Mumbai Indians head coach Charlotte Edwards expressed her delight on Harmanpreet's appointment as the skipper. "We are absolutely delighted to have Harmanpreet Kaur as our captain at Mumbai Indians. She is somebody who has led India brilliantly in the last few years. I'm really looking forward to working with her in the next few weeks."

At an event organised by the franchise here, India's top-order batter Jemimah Rodrigues was named as vice-captain of the franchise. Meg, a premier right-handed batter, had recently led Australia to their third straight ICC Women's T20 World Cup title in South Africa. She also became the first cricketer to lead the side in 100 T20Is, through the 19-run win over hosts South Africa in the final of 2023 Women's T20 World Cup at Newlands, Cape Town.

On Wednesday, the franchise appointed Harmanpreet as captain ahead of the WPL 2023, set to be held from March 4-26 in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Harmanpreet had been bought by the franchise for INR 1.8 crores at the player auction earlier this month. "I've seen the Mumbai Indian team doing so well on TV. And now I'm going to be a part of it. When you show that aggression, the opposition is always under pressure. For me, it is very important that I support each and every player from my team and play aggressive cricket," Kaur said

Touted to be one of the most dominating wicket-keeper-batters in the game, Mooney and her team Australia successfully brought home the Women's T20 World Cup in 2018, 2020 and 2023 along with the Women's ODI World Cup in 2022 and the Gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.