New Delhi, May 16 (Agency)
Star Indian players Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma were on Monday named captains of three teams for the Women’s T20 Challenge cricket tournament to be held in Pune from May 23. The Cricket Board of India (BCCI) has given place to 16 players in each team. Harmanpreet has been given the command of Supernovas, Mandhana as Trailblazers and Deepti as Velocity. The last tournament took place in 2020 which was won by the Trailblazers. Veteran Indian cricketers Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey have not found a place in any team.
12 overseas players will also take part in the exhibition tournament, including South African opener Laura Wolvaert and world number one Sophie Ecclestone. Nathaken Chentam of Thailand will be participating in the tournament for the second time. Leg-spinner Elena King is the only Australian player to take part in the tournament, while England’s players include Ecclestone, Sophia Dunkley and Kate Cross.
Bangladesh’s Salma Khatoon and Sharmin Akhtar have also been selected. The West Indies players participating in the tournament are Deandra Dottin and Haley Mathews. South Africa captain Sune Luss and Wolvaert will represent Supernovas and Velocity respectively. Players who performed well in the recently concluded Senior Women’s T20 tournament have found a place in the team. The most successful batsman of the tournament KP Navgire and most successful bowler Aarti Kedar will play for Velocity. The upcoming season will probably be the final tournament of the Women’s Challenge as the BCCI is planning to organize a full-fledged women’s IPL from next year.
The teams are as follows:
Supernovas: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Tania Bhatia, Elena King, Aayush Soni, Chandu V, Deandra Dotin, Harleen Deol, Meghna Singh, Monica Patel, Muskan Malik, Pooja Vastrakar, Priya Poonia, Rashi Kanojia, Sophie Ecclestone, Sune Luce and Mansi Joshi .
Trailblazers: Smriti Mandhana (Captain), Poonam Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Haley Mathews, Jemima Rodrigues, Priyanka Priyadarshini, Rajeshwari Gaekwad, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, S Meghna, Saika Ishaq, Salma Khatoon, Sharmin Akhtar, Sophia Brown, Sujata Malik and SB Pokharkar .
Velocity: Deepti Sharma (Captain), Sneh Rana, Shefali Verma, Ayabonga Khaka, KP Navgire, Katherine Cross, Keerthy James, Laura Wolwart, Maya Sonawane, Nathaken Chentam, Radha Yadav, Aarti Kedar, Shivli Shinde, Simran Bahadur, Yastika Bhatia and Pranavi Chandra .
