Xtra Time Web Desk: Mumbai Indians will take on Gujarat Giants in inaugural Women’s Premier League 2023 opener at the DY Patil stadium on March 4. The final will be played at the Brabourne Stadium on March 25. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday announced the schedule for WPL 2023.
The first double-header will take place on March 05. Royal Challengers Bangalore will square off against Delhi Capitals at the Brabourne Stadium while in the second game in the evening UP Warriorz will play against Gujarat Giants at the DY Patil Stadium.
There will be 4 double headers with the first match starting at 3:30 PM IST. All evening matches will start at 7:30 PM IST.
A total of 11 matches each will be held at the DY Patil Stadium and Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
The Final game of the league stage will be played between UP Warriorz and Delhi Capitals on 21st March at the Brabourne Stadium, CCI.
The Eliminator will be played at the DY Patil Stadium on 24th March.
In its inaugural edition, 5 teams – Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore & UP Warriorz splurged their purse to acquire some of the best talents in the international and domestic circuit.
India’s Smriti Mandhana was the top buy as she was sold for a whopping INR 3.40 Crore to Royal Challengers Bangalore. Team India Captain Harmanpreet Kaur was sold to Mumbai Indians for INR 1.80 Crore while the rest of the stars from India and around the globe too made the cut in one of the five franchises.
Among the foreign players, Australia all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner and England all-rounder Natalie Sciver were the top buys as they were sold to Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians for INR 3.20 Crore respectively. From the India U19 stars, ICC U19 T20 World Cup winning captain, Shafali Verma was the top buy, sold to Delhi Capitals for INR 2 Crore.
In its first season, the Women’s Premier League will stage a total of 20 league matches and 2 Playoff games that will be played in a duration of 23 days.