New Delhi: India’s white ball captains Harmanpreet Kaur and Mithali Raj along with their ‘double deputy’ Smriti Mandhana have been named captains of ‘Supernovas’, ‘Trailblazers’ and ‘Velocity’ squads respectively. The teams will take part in the upcoming women’s T20 Challenge scheduled from November 4 to 9 in the UAE.
Odisha’s Sushree Dibyadarshini has found a place in the ‘Velocity’ squad. The tournament also will see for the first time the inclusion of a Thailand cricketer. Natthakan Chantham became the first from her nation to get a maiden call-up in the mini-league. Chantham scored her country’s first Women’s T20 World Cup half century in Australia earlier this year. Each team have four overseas players each.
The T20 Challenge will begin with last year’s finalist ‘Supernovas’ taking on ‘Velocity’ in the opening game.
“The best of Indian women’s cricketers will combine with some of the leading stars from England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh and New Zealand. It will be a four-match tournament,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah was quoted in a media release.
The top foreign stars to participate include batswoman Deandra Dottin of the West Indies and England’s left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone. Her teammate Danielle Wyatt has also found a place in one of the squads.
Thirty-odd Indian players due are to take part in the three-team competition. They have already been asked to assemble in Mumbai by October 13. The players will then quarantine for more than a week and they will be tested multiple times in that period.
The players are likely to depart for UAE October 22. On reaching they will undergo six-day quarantine like all players competing in the men’s IPL.
The venue of the event has not been announced yet but it is likely to be held in Sharjah.
Squads:
Supernovas: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues (vic-captain), Chamari Atapattu, Priya Punia, Anuja Patil, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Shashikala Siriwardene, Poonam Yadav, Shakera Selman, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Ayushi Soni, Ayabonga Khaka and Muskan Malik.
Trailblazers: Smriti Mandhana (captain), Deepti Sharma (vice-captain), Punam Raut, Richa Ghosh, D. Hemalatha, Nuzhat Parween (wicket-keeper), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Harleen Deol, Jhulan Goswami, Simaran Dil Bahadur, Salma Khatun, Sophie Ecclestone, Natthakan Chantham, Deandra Dottin and Kashvee Gautam.
Velocity: Mithali Raj (captain), Veda Krishnamurthy (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Ekta Bisht, Mansi Joshi, Shikha Pandey, Devika Vaidya, Sushree Dibyadarshini, Manali Dakshini, Leigh Kasperek, Danielle Wyatt, Suné Luus, Jahanara Alam and M Anagha.
The complete schedule is as below:
04/11/2020 Supernovas vs velocity
05/11/2020 velocity vs Trailblazers
07/11/2020 Trailblazers vs Supernovas
09/11/2020 Final
Agencies