One more team added as BCCI confirms Jaipur as host for Women’s T20 Challenge
BCCI has confirmed the addition of the fourth team for the Women’s T20 Challenge which will have seven matches played during the IPL Playoff week at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The first edition of the tournament was played in 2018 and one more team was added last year in 2019.
As decided in the IPL Governing Council meeting last month, Women's T20 Challenge will have another team added to their structure, making it a four-team event moving forward. The matches will be played in Jaipur in the same week as the IPL play-offs, with Star Sports broadcasting the games on their TV and web platform. The last edition, which saw three teams participating, Supernovas, Trailblazers and Velocity, was led by Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Mithali Raj respectively and saw a good turn out in Jaipur.
"As part of its ongoing commitment to grow the women’s game, BCCI are pleased to announce the 2020 Women’s T20 Challenge. The tournament which started in 2018 and was a huge success, further garnered all the right eyeballs in the year to follow. The 2019 games, comprising three teams were played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur during the IPL Playoff and Finals week. The tournament was played with great intensity which saw the winner of 2019 WT20 Challenge being decided over the last ball of the match. The matches were broadcast LIVE on the Star Sports network and Hotstar," BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a press release.
Last year, Australian players failed to participate in the challenge, majorly because of the BCCI-CA controversy regarding shifting the ODI series. BCCI didn't agree with CA's proposal and despite repeated trying of Belinda Clarke and Kevin Roberts, they went ahead with the same structure of organising the series. However, chances of Aussie players taking part in the league is more than ever, making the four-team competition a grand event.
"2020 aims to be no different and this edition will see a 4th team added to the tournament. The WT20 Challenge this year will feature some of the world’s best women cricketers and will have 7 matches played during the IPL Playoff week at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. Like the previous editions, this year’s Women’s T20 Challenge too promises to be an exciting prospect," Shah added.
