The 4th edition of the Tata Women's Premier League is set to begin on January 9th. This year, teams have made many changes, and the league has levelled up. From Richa Ghosh to Kamalini, the league helped to evolve the players. In 2023, the tournament began with the Mumbai Indians' victory, and Harmanpreet Kaur led the team to its inaugural win. The Mumbai Indians are also the defending champions.
ALSO READ । How was ODI cricket accidentally created and turned into a global format?
History of the tournament
The formation of the league began when the BCCI introduced the Women’s Challenger Trophy in 2018, featuring two teams: Supernovas and Trailblazers. In 2019, the BCCI introduced a third team, called Velocity, which was held in a round-robin format immediately preceding the IPL. Finally, in 2022, the BCCI launched the long-awaited full-fledged women's league with five teams, including three franchises of IPL, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals. The other two teams are UP Warriors and Gujarat Giants. Stalwarts of Indian women's cricket, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana are the captains of the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Jemimah Rodrigues was appointed as the captain of the Delhi Capitals this year. The league is in its evolving phase and already produced some good talents.
ALSO READ । Rohit Sharma back in training mode as India prepares for NZ ODIs
When and Where to Watch
The WPL is going to start from 9th January with a faceoff between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers. A total of 22 matches are going to be played under the lights of DY Patil stadium of Navi Mumbai and BCA stadium of Vadodara. Coverage is available across major regions, with Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports broadcasting in Australia, Sky Sports handling coverage in England, Star Sports and JioHotstar showing the action in India, SuperSport airing it in South Africa, and Willow TV providing coverage in the United States. The matches will start from 7.30 PM, and there will be a few double headers also for the first time in WPL history, which will start on 3.30 PM.
