The stage is set as the inaugural Women’s Premier League kicks off from today

The long wait is finally over as the inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) starts from Saturday, March 4 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

The first match of the inaugural season will be played between the Mumbai Indians and the Gujarat Giants and will start at 8:00 PM IST. All the preparations have been done, players are ready and the fans cannot wait to see what will unfold in the upcoming 23 days.

A two-minute promo of the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) was launched on March 1 to put out a clear message. Its theme “Har zubaan par naam tera (your name will be on every tongue)” was created to make the name of women cricketers household names in India just like the name of men’s cricketers.

The first edition of the WPL comprises five teams – Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gujarat Giants, Delhi Capitals and UP Warriorz. There will be a total of 22 matches (20 league matches and 2 playoff games) played in a window of 23 days between March 4-26.

Out of the total 87 players who are participating, 28 are uncapped Indian cricketers. Hence, the WPL is a big opportunity for all young women cricketers to showcase their talent in front of a big stage.

Some of the big names out of the 57 Indian players participating in the league are Smriti Mandhana (RCB), Harmanpreet Kaur (MI), Shafali Verma (DC), Jemimah Rodrigues (DC), Deepti Sharma (UP Warriorz), Richa Ghosh (RCB), Renuka Singh Thakur (RCB) and Pooja Vastrakar (MI).

Meg Lanning (DC), Beth Mooney (GG), Elysse Perry (RCB), Tahlia McGrath (UP Warriorz), Ashleigh Gardner (GG), Nat-Sciver Brunt (MI), Sophie Ecclestone (UP Warriorz) and Alyssa Healy (GG) are some of the big names from the total 30 overseas players.

However, these are just international cricketers who are known worldwide. The unique thing about the WPL is that it features players who have fascinating stories. Andhra cricketer Sneha Deepthi is an active player who is a mother to a toddler. Sonam Yadav and Shabnam Shakil are the youngest players to feature in the league at 15 years of age, while Jasia Akhtar is a 34-year-old domestic player from Kashmir.

“WPL will definitely benefit state players, uncapped players and other players who are playing the game, and will bring a change in them. Like, when I saw Harry (Harmanpreet Kaur) go and play WBBL in the first year and when she came back, I saw a perceivable change in her approach to the game. Something from there had rubbed off on her,” said former India captain Mamatha Maben.

“Until then, we were lagging in the T20 format. We were there in the ODI format, but we were lagging behind in the T20 format for quite a few years. It’s when Harman and others went out to play in other leagues and brought back that kind of professionalism. This is what I felt at that time and something similar is going to happen now as domestic players will be able to bridge the gap.”

Former India cricketer Reema Malhotra mentioned that WPL will play a key role to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricketers. She also added that Indian players will certainly benefit from the WPL and will learn how to win big international tournaments.

“One will also get to play well in various game situations, handle them and learn to win too. Meg Lanning has won the World Cup five times as captain; Jemimah (Rodrigues) and Shafali will get to learn a lot, so as other uncapped players. So, the WPL will bridge the gap between a domestic and international player,” said Reema.

“It will also be advantageous for India as you reach semi-finals (of global events), but don’t win them as they haven’t been able to handle pressure well or something lacked. So, one will get learnings of covering those lacks from the WPL. Like in men’s cricket, when IPL began in 2008 after winning T20 World Cup in 2007, they went on to win 2011 World Cup, which was a journey. So, for me, that journey in women’s cricket will begin from here,” she added.

The stage is set for the WPL to commence and it’s going to be unique yet exciting for all the women cricketers. After successfully hosting the three-team Women’s T20 Challenge for four seasons, A five-team WPL is certainly the next big thing for women’s cricket in India.

We can say that #YehTohBasShuruatHai [this is just the beginning], as the WPL’s official hashtag goes.