Squad Announced for Women’s T20 Challenge in UAE – Complete List

Putting months of speculation to bed, BCCI has officially confirmed the IPL T20 Women’s Challenge, announcing squads and schedule for the three teams set to take part in this showcase event.

 

 

Likely to be played entirely in Sharjah, the tournament will feature four matches from November 4-9, including 3 round-robin matches followed by the finals. The three teams – IPL Supernovas, IPL Trailblazers and IPL Velocity will be led by Indian stars – Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj, respectively.

Fixtures for Women’s T20 Challenge ⬇️

Mark your calendar 🗓️ pic.twitter.com/nRDSCMMeca

— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 11, 2020

The recently appointed women’s selection panel led by Neetu David selected the domestic and international players for the event, with representation from South Africa and Thailand for the first time. This marquee event also features superstars of the global game from England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh, and New Zealand. The Australian women will miss out on the third season of the IPL Women’s Challenge, due to prior commitments in the WBBL, which takes place at the same time.

The tournament will feature 12 overseas players, with the likes of Danni Wyatt and Sophie Ecclestone set to join Velocity and Trailblazers, respectively. The No.1 bowler in the women’s game, Ecclestone, will be joined by West Indian, Deandra Dottin, for the girls in pink. The other overseas players in Trailblazers include Thailand’s first women to score a T20 WC 50, Nattakan Chantham, and Bangladesh spinner, Salma Khatun. Assisting Smriti Mandhana in leadership will be Deepti Sharma, taking on the role of vice-captain.

The first encounter will see a repeat of last year’s finals, with Harmanpreet Kaur’s Supernovas taking on Mithali Raj’s Velocity. All the matches will have a 7:30 PM IST start time, with the exception of the second match between Velocity and Smriti Mandhana’s Trailblazers, which has a Saturday afternoon kickoff at 3:30 PM IST.

Supernovas will be led by the Indian captain, who will have the guidance of emerging superstar, Jemimah Rodrigues, as the vice-captain. Former Sri Lanka captain’s, Shashikala Siriwardene and Chamari Atapattu will join the team as overseas players. This team will also feature South African pacer, Ayabonga Khaka, who will be one of the two South African’s to represent the country and continent for the first time.

The three teams will compete in the upcoming Women’s T20 Challenge to be played from 4th November to 9th November in the UAE.#IPL2020 #WomensT20Challenge pic.twitter.com/62MqIEDRHY

— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 11, 2020

Along with Wyatt, the girls in purple will also have the services of Bangladesh quickie, Jahanara Alam, New Zealander Leigh Kasperek and South Africa’s Suné Luus. Veda Krishnamurthy will be assisting Mithali Raj in the leadership role.

FULL SQUADS for Women’s T20 Challenge

Supernovas:

Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Jemimah Rodrigues (VC), Chamari Atapattu, Priya Punia, Anuja Patil, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (WK), Shashikala Siriwardene, Poonam Yadav, Shakera Selman, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Ayushi Soni, Ayabonga Khaka, Muskan Malik

Trailblazers:

Smriti Mandhana (C), Deepti Sharma (VC), Punam Raut, Richa Ghosh, D. Hemalatha, Nuzhat Parween (WK), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Harleen Deol, Jhulan Goswami, Simran Dil Bahadur, Salma Khatun, Sophie Ecclestone, Natthakan Chantham, Deandra Dottin, Kashvee Gautam

Velocity:

Mithali Raj (C), Veda Krishnamurthy (VC), Shafali Verma, Sushma Verma (WK), Ekta Bisht, Meghana Singh (replacement for Mansi Joshi), Shikha Pandey, Devika Vaidya, Sushree Dibyadarshini, Manali Dakshini, Leigh Kasperek, Danielle Wyatt, Suné Luus, Jahanara Alam, M. Anagha.