WPL: With wider reach now, Indians have chance to rise in third chapter

The Women's Premier League's dream of expansion and growth is finally coming to fruition.

- Samreen Razzaqui

NEW DELHI: After being confined to Tier I cities Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru in the first two editions, the tournament, in its third edition, will now bring women's cricket into Tier II cities - Lucknow and Vadodara.

Additionally, the tournament, for the first time since its inception in 2023, will see three Indian captains. Moving away from its initial criticism about not having enough Indian captains in its first year, the tournament will see Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma underlining the scope of leadership in the Indian set-up.

The presence of several U-19 players in this season's WPL adds an exciting dimension. From U-19 T20 World Cup winning captain Niki Prasad to wicket-keeper batter G Kamalini, pacers Shabnam Shakil and VJ Joshitha, spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Parunika Sisodia, it seems like the league is indeed executing what it set out to do - give Indian players a bigger platform, a wider audience and a chance to rise.