Harmanpreet, Smriti, Mithali to be at the helm for three different teams in Women’s T20 Challenge

When men are having the gala time in the Indian Premier League (IPL), how much can the women lag behind? Come May 6 and the three top stars of India’s women’s cricket – Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Mitali Raj – will be captaining three separate teams for the crown in Women’s T20 Challenge. The tournament is scheduled at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, between May 6 and 11, the day before the final of IPL 12 is played.

Harmanpreet will be leading the Supernovas while India’s sensational batswoman Smriti will be in charge of the Trailblazers. Mithali, the senior-most among the three, will lead Velocity. Last year, the Women’s T20 Challenge saw a one-off game between the Supernovas and Trailblazers which the former won by 3 wickets. New Zealander Suzie Bates was adjudged the player of the match for her all-round performance of 32 runs and two wickets.

Target is to promote women’s cricket, says BCCI

According to a report in Sportstar, 39 players have been divided into the three teams and each has four overseas players. “Our target is to promote women’s cricket in the country and this is a step in the right direction,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

The teams will also have their coaches. While the national women’s team coach WV Raman will be in charge of the Supernovas, former cricketer Biju George will coach the Trailblazers. Former India women’s cricket captain Mamatha Maben will be in charge of Mithali’s Velocity.

On Wednesday, the BCCI released a statement about the triangular women’s tournament in which it said: “Following the success of the 2018 Women’s Exhibition Match played in Mumbai prior to 2018 VIVO IPL Qualifier 1, this year sees the concept return on a larger scale.

The Women’s T20 will be made up of three teams playing four matches in Jaipur as standalone games during the 2019 VIVO IPL Playoff week. The teams will comprise current and future stars of Indian cricket playing alongside a selection of the world’s best players.”

All the matches will be telecast live on Star Sports. The teams are also likely to have training sessions from May 2. While the Supernovas and Trailblazers will lock horns on May 6, the latter will play Velocity on May 8 and the next day, it will be the Supernovas versus the Velocity.

The top two teams will play the final.

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from the Indian Premier League, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.