Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana to lead in Women's T20 exhibition games

Senior Indian Women’s cricketers Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana will captain the three teams in this year’s exhibition games for women. The experiment was started last year when two teams – Supernovas and Trailblazers – took on each other in a solitary game. And buoyed by the success of that game, the BCCI expanded this year’s contest by introducing a new third team- Velocity.

A total of four games will be contested this time around. Jaipur will be the host for all the games which will rum on the sidelines of the IPL playoffs. This year’s format will have a single round-robin game and the final. The round-robin matches will be played on May 6, 8 and 9 before the top two teams take on each other in the final on May 11.

In addition to the Indian players, top women cricketers from around the globe will be a part of the matches. This is one of the moves by the BCCI to make the women’s game popular in India. In case the upcoming games yield the desired results, it could pave the way for a tournament for the women cricketers on the lines of IPL.

All the four games are likely to be telecast live, and the BCCI yet to finalise the timings in consultation with the broadcasters. Last year the game between the Supernovas and Trailblazers, which ended on the very last ball, was played before Qualifier 1 of the IPL at the Wankhede Stadium. The match was broadcast live but was played in the middle of the afternoon with a 2 pm start time. As a result, it could not attract the desired crowd.

IPL final shifted:

Meanwhile, the final of this year’s IPL has been shifted from Chennai to Hyderabad. The BCCI took the decision after the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association could not get permission to make fans sit in three stands of the stadium. The final will be played on May 12.

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