It is the first edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) so, which team are you rooting for?
Finally, the -awaited India's new T20 franchise league for women is starting today, March 4. With five teams, the matches are scheduled to be held from March 4 to March 26. So, which teams are a part of the tournament? What is new in this edition? Are IPL rules applicable? Who are the big cricketers to look forward to? #WhatTheFAQ is here to give you answers to all these questions and a lot more.
Which teams are participating?
There are five teams in total. Namely: Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and UP Warriorz. And in the first match, Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians lock horns with each other.
Who are the captains and what about their squads?
Delhi Capitals: Meg Lanning
Gujarat Giants: Beth Mooney
Mumbai Indians: Harmanpreet Kaur
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Smriti Mandhana
UP Warriorz: Alyssa Healy
According to the WPL rules, each squad has 15 to 18 members, with six overseas players each.
Who are the ones who own these teams?
Among the five teams, there are two new owners while the rest are the ones who already own an Indian Premier League (IPL) team. Here are the names:
Mumbai Indians: Reliance
Delhi Capitals: JSW and GMR group
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Diageo
Gujarat Giants: Adani Sportsline (new owner)
UP Warriorz: Capri Global, a non-banking financial services company (new owner)
What does the schedule of the tourney look like?
There are a total of 20 matches excluding the eliminator and final match. The matches are scheduled to begin at 7.30 IST and during double-header days, the matches will be held at 3.30 pm and 7.30 pm.
Here is the schedule for the first week's matches:
March 4: Gujarat Giants vs Mumbai Indians
March 5: RCB vs DC and UP Warriorz vs Gujarat Giants
March 6: MI vs RCB
March 7: DC vs UP Warriorz
March 8: Gujarat Giants vs RCB
March 9: DC vs MI
March 10: RCB vs UP Warriorz
March 11: Gujarat Giants vs DC
March 12: UP Warriorz vs MI
March 13: DC vs RCB
March 14: MI vs Gujarat Giants
Following all the matches after March 21, the eliminator match is scheduled on March 24 and the finals will be held on March 26.
Where are the matches held?
All the matches are held in Mumbai's two stadiums. One: D Y Patil Sports Stadium and two: CCI-Brabourne Stadium. Wondering why aren't teams playing on their home ground? On the day of auctioning players, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said the tournament may expand to more cities later on, but for now, it's all in Mumbai for logistical reasons, as stated in a report by ESPN.cricinfo.
Who are the big players to watch out for?
Among the big players, we have Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma and Beth Mooney, as stated in a report by ESPN.cricinfo. Additionally, RCB fans are hopeful that in WPL, RCB will take home the trophy.
Are IPL rules applicable?
Yes, the rule of four overseas players per playing XI, like in IPL, is also the same in WPL. This isn't applicable if a team has an associate player, that is, she could play as the fifth overseas player in the playing XI. To note, in this tournament, the Capitals were the only team to buy an associate player at the auction: Tara Norris, a left-arm quick, from the USA.
