WPL, Mithali Raj to join Gujarat Giants as mentor: Report
What's the story
Mithali Raj has been roped in as the mentor of Gujarat Giants for the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League. The former Indian women's team skipper, who retired from international cricket last year, was keen to feature in the competition as a player. However, according to News18 Cricketnext, the lack of interest from franchises forced her to take the coaching role.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Mithali is arguably the finest women's batter ever, and her record at the highest level depicts the same. She now has the onus to prove her mettle in the coaching arena. As reported, she will join Gujarat Giants, the Ahmedabad-based franchise owned by the Adani group. Meanwhile, the inaugural WPL is expected to get underway in the last week of March.
Developments
A look at the developments
"Mithali was keen to play but there was lack of interest from the teams. She will now be turning up for the Gujarat team as the mentor," a source told News18 Cricketnext. "Yes there was interest from her side to play, particularly for the team based out of Mumbai but things didn't quite materialize the way she would have wanted," the source added.
Stats
Decoding the career stats of Mithali
In 232 ODI matches, Mithali scored 7,805 runs at an incredible average of 50.68. She hammered seven centuries and 64 fifties. Mithali claimed 64 catches. In 12 Tests, Mithali scored 699 runs at 43.68. She managed one century and four fifties. In 89 T20Is, Mithali managed 2,364 runs at 37.52. She slammed 17 half-centuries with the best score of 97*.
Report
WPL likely to begin on March 4
As per ESPNcricinfo, the inaugural WPL will get underway a week after the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023, which concludes on February 26. The competition is expected to be played from March 4 to 24. The window for the WPL has to be adjusted between the WC and men's IPL. As per the plan, the competition will witness a total of 22 matches.
Bidders
BCCI announces successful bidders of WPL
The BCCI recently announced the successful bidders of the WPL. The five franchises based in Lucknow, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad were sold at a combined bid valuation of Rs. 4,669.99 crore. Notably, each franchise will have an auction purse of Rs. 12 crore to build their squads. The squad strength will be between 15 and 18 players.
Auction
WPL player auction to take place in early February
The squads for the inaugural WPL will be picked via a player auction. The bidding event will take place in the first week of February. As per Cricbuzz, the BCCI has called for both the capped and uncapped cricketers to register online to enter the Player Auction Register. The deadline for this was set for January 26.