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R Ashwin – A Spin Legend In Making

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One of the best spinners one can discover on the planet today, Ravichandran Ashwin has made some amazing progress in the previous 5 years. One of the uncommon players who had a solid effect in the worldwide field post IPL achievement, he is enhancing a far cry with each diversion he plays, and still intends to be better.

1. Ravichandran or Ashwin? 

There is some perplexity with respect to the genuine name of the man we as a whole know as Ravichandran Ashwin. His dad's name is Ravichandran, and his name is Ashwin. Maybe calling him R Ashwin will be ideal. 

2. Cricket in his blood 

Ravichandran, who worked for Southern Railways, played club cricket for Egmore Excelsiors for over 10 years. It was for a similar club that Ashwin would make his initial cricketing strides. 

3. Early values 

Ashwin's mom Chitra was very strict with respect to his studies. While both guardians bolstered Ashwin's cricketing profession, they were firm about his instruction too. Chitra told Mid-Day, "We never trade off on training, and Ashwin was develop enough to acknowledge that." 

4. Opening batsman 

One reason Ashwin is such a decent lower-arrange batsman is that toward the begin of his cricketing interests, he was an opening batsman. Confronting another ball for a greater part of his initial days guaranteed that his strategy is more than amazing for somebody who bats so wicked good the request.

5. A serious damage 

The real explanation behind Ashwin's batting taking a secondary lounge was because of a serious harm he grabbed as an adolescent. When he was 14, Ashwin harmed his pelvic range. The horrendous harm brought about a tear in the tendons between his hip bones. This made blood spill into the bone joints, diffusing them. Chitra said of the harm, "He would have had inserts which would have put a stop to his cricket profession. Fortunately, we looked for second feeling from another orthopedic specialist… We needed to place him in bed rest for two months, and he was out of activity for very nearly eight months. Indeed, even after that, he was limping for quite a while." 

6. Bouncing back 

The harm swung to be a surprisingly beneficial development for Ashwin. When he returned to the amusement, he discovered his opening spot had been taken so his mom Chitra recommended he attempt his hand at turn knocking down some pins. The rest, as it's been said, is history. 

7. Shared presentations 

Despite the fact that it likely did not influence him excessively, Ashwin did not get the chance to appreciate the sole focus on any of his three global presentations. He imparted his T20I introduction to Virat Kohli and Naman Ojha, his ODI make a big appearance with Ojha and Pankaj Singh, and his Test make a big appearance with Umesh Yadav.

8. Great on all presentations 

Ashwin's aptitudes went to the fore in each of his three presentation matches. He took 1 for 22 in four overs against Zimbabwe (getting the wicket of Tatenda Taibu) in his first T20I, which India won effectively by six wickets. In spite of the fact that India lost the match in which Ashwin made his ODI make a big appearance (against Sri Lanka), he inspired both with bat (38 off 32) and later with the ball (2 for 50 in 10 overs). Yet, it was his Test make a big appearance that would have genuinely astonished the individuals who thought he was not ready to deal with the longest organization. 

Playing against West Indies, Ashwin took 3 for 61 in the principal innings (he rejected Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, and Ravi Rampaul) and after that trapped 6 for 47 (including the scalps of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kieran Powell, and Fidel Edwards to similar men he took out in the main innings). Ashwin completed with match figures of 9 for 128, second just to Narendra Hirwani's 16-for on presentation. He likewise turned into the third Indian to win Man of the Match on Test make a big appearance. Co-unexpectedly, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma copied him to win Man-of-the-Match grants on Test make a big appearance. 

9. Highest partnership 

Had it not been for Ashwin and Rohit, Sachin Tendulkar’s penultimate Test could have ended quite differently. After West Indies were bowled out for 234 (Ashwin accounted for Chanderpaul and Veersammy Permaul) in the first Test at Eden Gardens in 2013, Shane Shillingford reduced India to 156 for 6 before Ashwin joined debutant Rohit. The duo put on a fantastic 280 runs for the seventh wicket; an Indian record. India finally got to 453, and India bowled out West Indies for 168 (Ashwin took three more wickets) to win by an innings and 51 runs.

10.  Fastest 50, 100 & 150

Ashwin holds the records for being the speediest Indian to 50, 100 and 150 Test wickets. He got his 50th wicket in his ninth Test (beating past holder Anil Kumble by one match), 100th in his eighteenth Test (beating past holder EAS Prasanna by two diversions) and 150th scalp in hey 29th Test (beating past holder EAS Prasanna by five recreations).

11. An exceptional 10-for 

The principal Test of the 2013 Border-Gavaskar arrangement in India was played in Ashwin's main residence, Chennai. He reacted magnificently to his home ground, taking 7 for 103 in the primary innings before MS Dhoni (224) became the overwhelming focus. Opening knocking down some pins in the second innings, Ashwin reacted with 5 for 95, as India were left with a negligible 50 hurries to win, which they did with eight wickets remaining. It was Ashwin's second-since forever Test 10-wicket pull however what made it all the sweeter was that it came at his home ground. Considerably more fundamentally, he turned into the primary Indian bowler to take 10 wickets in the place where he grew up. 

12. Sanga's bane 

Kumar Sangakkara may have threatened bowlers for over 10 years, however in the diminishing snapshots of his profession he surrendered to Ashwin more than once. Sangakkara's last Test arrangement came against India at home in 2015. He played just the initial two Tests, at Galle and P Sara Oval, Colombo. In any case, the Sri Lankan maestro neglected to get to a half-century any of his last four innings, capitulating to Ashwin on every one of the four events. Ashwin turned into the main bowler in history to reject Sangakkara in four progressive innings.

13. Man for all Arrangement 

A standout amongst the most astonishing actualities about Ashwin is that 36 Tests into his vocation, he has won the Man of the Series grant six circumstances. As cricket analyst Bharath Seervi calls attention to, Richard Hadlee and Imran Khan both had eight Man-of-the-Series grants each in 86 and 88 Tests separately (in spite of the fact that the Man-of-the-Series honors were not extremely regular in that period). Ashwin's count of six such honors in 36 matches comes at a superior rate than even them and this is additionally the most number of man of the arrangement grant got by an Indian cricketer. 

14. Genuine All-rounder 

Ashwin is the joint speediest (with Ian Botham and Jack Gregory) to the twofold of 50 wickets and 500 runs. Each of the three men got to the point of interest in their eleventh Tests. Ashwin's amazing all-round aptitudes can be further characterized; among all Indians with the 100 wicket-1,000 run twofold, Ashwin's batting normal of 34.26 is second just to Ravi Shastri, while his knocking down some pins normal of 25.20 is the best. This improves his general numbers than any semblance of Kapil Dev, Vinoo Mankad, and Anil Kumble. 

15. Grants in Abundance 

Ashwin was met with an Arjuna grant — India's most noteworthy wearing honor — in 2014. He was additionally named BCCI's cricketer of the year in 2012-13. 

16. Marrying a Friend 

Ashwin wedded his youth companion Prithi Narayanan in 2011, after he made his Test make a big appearance against West Indies. Ashwin reacted by taking four wickets in his next Test — which finished in an Indian win — before featuring in the third and last Test with 5 for 156 and 4 for 34 notwithstanding scoring 103, his lady Test ton. He was then run out off the last bundle of the Test with the scores level and India nine wickets down.

posted Dec 1, 2016 by Anita Yadav

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We had given the names of 10 cricketers who has performed especially well for their country in the most recent 12 months and should discover a place among the absolute best. 

The rundown included two Indians, three Aussies, two Englishmen and one each from Pakistan, Afghanistan and South Africa. Adolescent leg-spinner Rashid Khan who performed extremely well for his country should have been a chosen one for the best player of 2016. Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin were the normal names in the conflict. Jonny Bairstow alongside Joe Root who has had huge years have likewise been incorporated.

1. Virat Kohli (India)

India’ Test skipper Virat Kohli is having a dream run in international cricket at the moment. Irrespective of formats and oppositions Virat has been piling on run after runs and can go on to break all the batting records until he calls it a day.

The “Modern Master” struck three double centuries in Tests in the calendar year and finished with 1215 runs in 12 Tests at an average of 75.93. He also led his team to five consecutive series victories and was the only captain to remain unbeaten in Tests through the course of the year.

2. Azhar Ali (Pakistan)

The Pakistan right-handed opener isn’t the most impressive batsman on display but has the ability to bat for long hours and hit big scores especially in Test cricket. His recent double century against the mighty Australians in their own territory showed the amount of grit and determination the man had to succeed against the Aussies.

3. Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)

The most promising bowler of Afghanistan in 2016, Rashid Khan was the find of the ICC Word T20. The leg-spinner has been pretty impressive in the limited-overs format and was instrumental in helping the Afghans to a famous win against the eventual World Champions West Indies in the World T20 earlier in 2016.

4. David Warner (Australia)

Warner didn’t have a particularly impressive beginning in the Test arena but gained from strength to strength. He was consistently troubled by the Lankan spinners during their 0-3 drubbing at the hands of Sri Lanka. Warner in total played 11 Tests in 2016 scoring 748 runs at an average of 42 with two centuries to his name.

5Steve Smith (Australia)

The Australian captain across all formats has been one of the positives for the Aussies in an otherwise disappointing year especially in the longest format of the game. The year also saw Smith leaving in between an ODI series against Sri Lanka to prepare for the South Africa series and received criticism from every quarter.

6. Ravichandran Ashwin (India)

Indian spin ace Ravichandran Ashwin has been on a record-breaking spree of late and courtesy his brilliant performances in the year, the No.1 all-rounder joined the ranks of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid by becoming the 3rd Indian to bag the ICC Cricketer of the Year award. Besides that, he also got the ICC Test player of the year award.

7. Mitchell Starc (Australia)

The lanky fast bowler from Australia had a terrific time in 2016 despite below par performances from his team especially in the longest format of the game. Starc was the highest wicket-taker for the Aussies with 24 wickets in the 3-match Test series in Sri Lanka which the visitors lost 0-3. Overall Starc finished with 50 wickets in 8 Tests at an average of 22.58.

8. Quinton de Kock (South Africa)

South African wicketkeeper-batsman, Quinton de Cock had a tremendous time in 2016. He has been a terrific opener for South Africa especially in limited overs cricket and more often than not he has provided the Proteas with a rollicking start.

The hard-hitting southpaw had a tremendous year irrespective of the format and boasts of 50+ averages in both Tests and ODIs. De Kock has scored 857 runs in 17 ODIs in 2016 at an impressive average of 57.13 with 3 centuries to his name.

9. Joe Root (England)

The mainstay of the England batting order Joe Root’s sublime form continued in 2016 and not only did he succeed in Tests, he was brilliant in the shorter formats too. In ODIs Root accumulated 796 runs 15 outings at an impressive average of 61.23 with his highest score being 125 against the mighty Proteas.

10. Jonny Bairstow (England)

English wicketkeeper-batsman in the Test outfit Jonny Bairstow had a terrific 2016 both with the bat and behind the stumps. He finished the year as the 2nd highest run scorer just behind his teammate Joe Root.

In the 3-match Test series against Sri Lanka in May Bairstow finished as the leading run-scorer from either side. He accumulated 387 runs in 3 Tests at a staggering average of 129.00. His top score of 167* came in the final Test at Lord’s.

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Ravichandran Ashwin is India's leading spinner in the post-Anil Kumble period. Despite the fact that at first taken a gander at as even more a T20 bowler, Ashwin has since bloomed into a dynamite Test bowler too.

Let's take a look at 10 Interesting and unknown facts about India's lead spinner Ravichandran Ashwin:

1.  Ravichandran or Ashwin?

There is some perplexity with respect to the real name of the man we as a whole know as Ravichandran Ashwin. His father's name is Ravichandran, and his name is Ashwin. Maybe calling him R Ashwin will be ideal.

2.  Cricket in his blood

Ravichandran, who worked for Southern Railways, played club cricket for Egmore Excelsiors for over 10 years. It was for a similar club that Ashwin would make his initial cricketing strides.

3.  Early values

Ashwin's mother Chitra was very strict with respect to his studies. While both guardians bolstered Ashwin's cricketing profession, they were firm about his training also. Chitra told Mid-Day, "We never trade off on education, and Ashwin was mature enough to acknowledge that."

4.  Opening batsman

One reason Ashwin is such a decent lower-order batsman is that toward the begin of his cricketing interests, he was an opening batsman. Confronting another ball for a main part of his initial days guaranteed that his method is more than amazing for somebody who bats so down and out the request.

5.  A severe injury

The significant purpose behind Ashwin's batting taking a back seat was due to a severe injury he picked up as a teenager. When he was 14, Ashwin harmed his pelvic area. The awful damage brought about a tear in the tendons between his hip bones. This made blood spill into the bone joints, diffusing them. Chitra said of the harm, "He would have had inserts which would have put a stop to his cricket vocation. Fortunately, we looked for second supposition from another orthopedic specialist… We needed to place him in bed rest for two months, and he was out of activity for right around eight months. Indeed, even from that point forward, he was limping for quite a while."

6.  Bouncing back

The injury turned to be a surprisingly positive turn of events for Ashwin. When he returned to the diversion, he discovered his opening spot had been taken so his mother Chitra suggested he try his hand at spin bowling. The rest, as they say, is history.

7.  Shared debuts

In spite of the fact that it most likely did not influence him excessively, Ashwin did not get the chance to appreciate the sole focus on any of his three international debuts. He shared his T20I debut with Virat Kohli and Naman Ojha, his ODI debut with Ojha and Pankaj Singh, and his Test debut with Umesh Yadav.

8.  Highest partnership

Had it not been for Ashwin and Rohit, Sachin Tendulkar's penultimate Test could have finished in an unexpected way. After West Indies were knocked down some pins out for 234 (Ashwin represented Chanderpaul and Veersammy Permaul) in the primary Test at Eden Gardens in 2013, Shane Shillingford decreased India to 156 for 6 preceding Ashwin joined debutant Rohit. The team put on a fabulous 280 keeps running for the seventh wicket; an Indian record. India at last got to 453, and India knocked down some pins out West Indies for 168 (Ashwin took three more wickets) to win by an innings and 51 runs.

9.  Fastest 50, 100 & 150

Ashwin holds the records for being the fastest Indian to 50, 100 and 150 Test wickets. He got his 50th wicket in his ninth Test (beating past holder Anil Kumble by one match), 100th in his eighteenth Test (beating past holder EAS Prasanna by two recreations) and 150th scalp in hey 29th Test (beating past holder EAS Prasanna by five amusements).

10.  A special 10-for

The first Test of the 2013 Border-Gavaskar arrangement in India was played in Ashwin's main residence, Chennai. He reacted superbly to his home ground, taking 7 for 103 in the primary innings before MS Dhoni (224) became the overwhelming focus. Opening rocking the bowling alley in the second innings, Ashwin reacted with 5 for 95, as India were left with a minor 50 rushes to win, which they did with eight wickets remaining. It was Ashwin's second-since forever Test 10-wicket pull however what made it all the sweeter was that it came at his home ground. Considerably more fundamentally, he turned into the main Indian bowler to take 10 wickets in his hometown.

11.  Sanga’s bane

Kumar Sangakkara may have threatened bowlers for over 10 years, however in the diminishing snapshots of his profession he capitulated to Ashwin more than once. Sangakkara's last Test arrangement came against India at home in 2015. He played just the first two Tests, at Galle and P Sara Oval, Colombo. In any case, the Sri Lankan maestro failed to get to a half-century any of his last four innings, capitulating to Ashwin on each of the four events. Ashwin turned into the main bowler in history to dismiss Sangakkara in four progressive innings.

12.  True all-rounder

Ashwin is the joint quickest (with Ian Botham and Jack Gregory) to the twofold of 50 wickets and 500 runs. Each of the three men got to the point of interest in their eleventh Tests. Ashwin's great all-round aptitudes can be additionally characterized; among all Indians with the 100 wicket-1,000 run twofold, Ashwin's batting normal of 34.26 is second just to Ravi Shastri, while his rocking the bowling alley normal of 25.20 is the best. This improves his general numbers than any semblance of Kapil Dev, Vinoo Mankad, and Anil Kumble.

READ MORE

Figures of 6 for 25 by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal amid the third T20 in Bengaluru paralyzed England. 26 year-old Yuzvendra sprouted like a champion in this T20 arrangement. However, individuals who have seen his execution before are not amazed as his fans are very much aware of his cricketing abilities and ability 

A year ago, BCCI while reporting India's restricted over squad for the up and coming Zimbabwe visit chose to allow to a few youths also and Yuzvendra Chahal was one of them. His choice didn't come as a stun as Yuzvendra had as of now performed extraordinarily amid the IPL 2016 while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He was the purple top holder of the competition with 19-wickets. 

Yuzvendra Chahal is another period cricketer and here are some fascinating truths about him that will make you his greatest fan.

1. Conceived on 23rd July, 1990, Yuzvendra Chahal hails from Jind locale of Haryana, India. Since his adolescence, he has an enthusiasm for both cricket and chess. 

2. Yuzvendra Chahal, who playes for Haryana in Ranji Trophy, is the main player to speak to India in chess and cricket. 

3. In 2002, Chahal was U-12 national chess champion. He has spoken to India at the Asian Youth Championship (U-12 class) in Kozhikode and U-16 India at the World Youth Chess Championship in Greece. 

4. He is still recorded on FIDE's (Fédération Internationale des Échecs/World Chess Federation) official site. According to most recent FIDE evaluations, Chahal's appraising is 1956. 

5. Yuzvendra Chahal had full support from his family however he needed to change his concentration from cricket to chess as he couldn't discover a supporter for himself. 

6. Aside from cricket and chess, Chahal likewise has an enthusiasm for football. He is a Real Madrid supporter and his most loved footballer is Cristiano Ronaldo. 

7. In 2011, Chahal initially played for the Mumbai Indians. Around then, Harbhajan Singh was the group's fundamental spinner however that year Chahal guaranteed 2 for 9 in Mumbai's Champions League T20 triumph. 

8. While speaking to the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2016 IPL, Chahal was the second most noteworthy wicket-taker. As RCB achieved the last of the opposition, Chahal completed with 21 wickets. 

9. RCB purchased their leg spinner at the IPL Player Auction 2014 with the base cost of 10 lakhs. Indeed, even in 2011, he was purchased by Mumbai Indians at a similar base cost. 

10. In his exact moment ODI, he was the man of the match in the wake of taking three for 25 runs. The match was against Zimbabwe at Harare in June, 2016 and India won the match by eight wickets. 

11. The 2016 match against Zimbabwe is associated with Chahal playing a crease up conveyance at 109ââkm/h. 

12. Chahal has played 20 top of the line matches, 25 List-A matches, and 77 T20 matches till date, where he has taken 37, 25 and 80 wickets separately. 

13. An entire tyke on the most fundamental level, Chahal is a self-acclaimed prankster. He is naughty, jokes a considerable measure and likes to keep the climate light. 

14. Chahal really likes Katrina Kaif. He dribbles over her grin and says that she is his fantasy date.

15. Yuzvendra Chahal turned into the principal Indian bowler to guarantee a five-wicket pull in T20 internationals in the third T20 against England on February 1, 2017

READ MORE

Rishabh Pant has gradually been ascending as the following huge thing in Indian cricket. The wicket-attendant batsman rose to popularity with splendid exhibitions at the U19 level. At his lady full season in Ranji Trophy, he set the records ablaze with predictable severe batting. With runs originating from his bat voluntarily, the youthful Delhi chap will undoubtedly exceed expectations at the largest amount sometime in the future. 

At such a youthful age, he is occupied with tormenting the best bowlers of the household circuit. With the Indian group searching for a substitution for MS Dhoni post the 2019 World Cup, Pant has a decent case served for himself. The youthful child needs to keep performing at the household level and the call will without a doubt arrive when the day coaxes for him.

1. Roots and beginnings 

Rishabh Pant was conceived on October 4, 1997 at Haridwar in Uttarakhand. As a youthful child, he swapped urban areas in an offer to locate a decent cricket mentor. He began off with Roorkee and afterward moved to Delhi. He had a brief stretch in Rajasthan before at last settling in Delhi. 

2. Moving to Rajasthan on mentor's recommendation 

At 12 years old, Pant was prepared by mentor Tarak Sinha, a similar mentor who trained Shikhar Dhawan. Sinha exhorted Pant to move to Rajasthan from Delhi looking for better open doors. He did precisely that and spoke to Rajasthan at U14 and U16 level. 

3. Tossed out of the foundation 

Unexpectedly, Rishabh Pant confronted an ouster from the Rajasthan cricket hover for being an 'untouchable'. This happened after Pant had effectively played age bunch cricket in Rajasthan. That did not stall the spirits of the young fellow and he kept on playing with full enthusiasm.

4. Back to Delhi with a blast 

Rishabh Pant moved back to Delhi after his Rajasthan ouster. Scarcely months before his eighteenth birthday, he made his First-Class make a big appearance for Delhi. He finished his most recent two years of tutoring in Delhi. He scored 57 on his First Class make a big appearance second innings against Bengal in 2015. 

5. Exceeding expectations at the U19s 

Gasp was named in the India U19 squad for the ICC U19 World Cup 2016 held at Bangladesh. He turned out to be the champion entertainer for India as India U19 completed as the runner-up of the competition. He hit 3 continuous fifties in the competition. 

6. Quickest fifty in U19 World Cup 

In a similar competition, he hit the speediest fifty at U19 worldwide level. He smacked a fifty in only 18 balls against Nepal. He wound up with a score of 78 off 24 balls. In the following match against Namibia U19, he scored 111 off 96 balls to guide India U19 to finals.

7. The IPL Connect

On the day when Pant scored a hundred against Namibia U19, he was purchased by the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL for an incredible 1.9 crore rupees. 

8. Adores the virtuoso 

Rishabh Pant is a vigorous enthusiast of previous Australian wicket-manager batsman Adam Gilchrist. No big surprise why he joined a comparable style of play. 

9. Third most youthful triple century in Ranji Trophy 

Gasp pounded a splendid 308 off only 326 balls in the Ranji experience against Maharashtra in the 2016-17 season. He turned into the third most youthful batsman after Wasim Jaffer and Abhinav Mukund to hit a Ranji triple. He likewise turned into the second wicket-manager to do as such.

10. Near a legend 

His thump of 308 is the second most astounding for Delhi in First Class cricket after Raman Lamba's 312 in 1994. 

11. Scoring the speediest Ranji ton 

In the 2016-17 season, he crushed the speediest Ranji Trophy century. His century fell off only 48 balls against Jharkhand. 

12. On a six-hitting spree 

In the match when he scored the speediest ton in Ranji history, Pant clobbered 21 sixes. This remaining parts to be the second most elevated number of sixes hit by a batsman in First Class cricket in India.

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At the peak of the #10YearChallenge social media fad, in January this year, emerged two images of Sydney's Drummoyne Oval on Twitter. One was of an England v West Indies ODI from the 2009 Women's ODI World Cup, with scarcely any spectators in sight; the other of the ongoing Women's Big Bash League final on Australia Day, with a sellout 5,368-strong crowd in attendance. The opening line of the tweet from renowned British broadcaster Alison Mitchell read: "What a difference a decade makes."

As the first multi-team Women's T20 Challenge gears up to run in Jaipur from May 6 to 11, be advised to be reasonable and not expect such scenes to play out at Sawai Mansingh Stadium. But somewhere between women's cricket in India experiencing its own Drummoyne Oval 2019 moment in the future and the one-off women's T20 exhibition match that had less than 200 spectators in attendance at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium last year, the three-team tournament could warrant its own viral before-and-after photo-post.

Women's T20 Challenge factoids

Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj will lead Supernovas, Trailblazers and Velocity - the new team this edition - respectively

Thirty-nine players, including 12 overseas participants and four uncapped Indians (Jasia Akhtar, Komal Zanzad, Shafali Verma and Sushri Dibyadarshini), have been divided among the three squads

In the event of a tie, a Super Over will decide the winners

Teams can use the DRS and a strategic time-out (after the tenth over)

All matches to be broadcast and live-streamed on the BCCI's host broadcasters TV and digital platforms

Free admission for all four matches

What really is the big deal about the Women's T20 Challenge, though?

For starters, this is no longer an 'exhibition' event. With nominated XIs to take the field, and a maximum of four overseas players permitted in each side, the Women's T20 Challenge will be carrying official T20 status, in line with the IPL, the Women's Big Bash League in Australia and the Kia Super League in the UK. Three of the four matches will be night fixtures - a rarity for women's cricket in India - with one starting at 3.30pm India time.

Some of the best female internationals from New Zealand, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India will be in action in the space of just six days, another unusual occurrence. Unlike last year's game, for which Indian players were only paid a daily allowance, all the participants will get a match fee here.

The BCCI envisages the tournament as a prelude to a full-fledged women's IPL, "the next big step for women's cricket", as Australia captain Meg Lanning put it two months ago. Although Lanning and her Australia team-mates will be missing out on the event, years down the line - how many years, though, is anybody's guess - the Women's T20 Challenge could be acknowledged as the one that changed the narrative around women's cricket in the biggest market for the game.

The debate over whether a market does exist yet for women's cricket in India is far from settled. What one can say with some certainty, though, is that two of India's current players are bonafide stars in overseas leagues.

The highlights of Harmanpreet Kaur - already a "hot property" in the WBBL following her maiden season in 2016-17 and her epic 171 not out - hitting the winning six for Lancashire Thunder on debut at the KSL last July crossed a million views on YouTube inside three days.

Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana pose for the cameras Annesha Ghosh

Smriti Mandhana's record-breaking maiden stint at the same tournament, for her franchise Western Storm, hastened her burgeoning worldwide fan base and earned her a recall at the WBBL's fourth season.

Harmanpreet and Mandhana, along with two of India's - and cricket's - all-time greats, Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, and Veda Krishnamurthy and teenager Jemimah Rodrigues are now faces of many home-grown and international brands. Their social-media following runs into millions, more than some of the world's best known non-cricket female athletes.

On the performance front, India have had good showings in the recent past, at least as world tournaments go. A runners-up finish in the 2017 World Cup and a semi-final qualification in the 2018 T20 World Cup were both classic underdog sports stories - where they punched above their weight to knock down andknock out heavyweights of power-hitting in non-subcontinental conditions - that made big news.

Those two campaigns alone should have inspired the richest cricket board in the world to piggyback on the brand value of its IPL men's franchises and get its own women's league off the ground. But the groundswell of interest generated by both campaigns was squandered. Following their breakout 2017 World Cup run, India didn't even play an international fixture in the subsequent six months. Besides, during their first home season post-World Cup, Raj and Goswami expressed their reservations about the depth of domestic pool for a women's T20 league to kick off in the country.

The positives of India's first run to the knockouts of the World T20 in eight years, at the 2018 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, meanwhile, sank in the quicksand of leaked emails and infighting between the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators that oversees the BCCI. The board, on its part, too, has been apprehensive about starting a women's IPL due to concerns over the quality of its uncapped players, a thought recently echoed by current India head coach WV Raman, in the wake of India's T20 series loss against England.

However, with Raj and Goswami, along with Harmanpreet, Mandhana, and several top-drawer overseas women's stars, unanimously calling for a women's IPL in the recent past for the betterment of the game, the Women's T20 Challenge is the BCCI's response to the clarion call. With the T20 World Cup less than ten months away, the tournament also serves an opportunity for the Indian selectors to scout promising uncapped talent and, as Mandhana mentioned at the pre-tournament press conference, help them "assess which players [uncapped or otherwise] would perform well under pressure."

Whether the Women's T20 Challenge is an overnight success or receives lukewarm response remains to be seen. What one hopes it will do, though, is make for a worthy #10YearChallenge throwback in the timeline of women's cricket or, more ideally, a heartening #FiveYearFlashback post, in 2024.

Squads:

Supernovas: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Anuja Patil, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Mansi Joshi, Poonam Yadav, Priya Punia, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Chamari Atapattu*, Lea Tahuhu*, Sophie Devine*, Natalie Sciver*
Coach: WV Raman

Trailblazers: Smriti Mandhana (c), Bharti Fulmali, D Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Harleen Deol, Jasia Akhtar, Jhulan Goswami, R Kalpana (wk), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Suzie Bates*, Sophie Ecclestone*, Shakera Selman*, Stafanie Taylor*
Coach: Biju George

Velocity: Mithali Raj (c), Devika Vaidya, Ekta Bisht, Komal Zanzad, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sushma Verma (wk), Sushri Dibyadarshini, Veda Krishnamurthy, Amelia Kerr*, Danielle Wyatt*, Hayley Matthews*, Jahanara Alam*
Coach: Mamatha Maben

*Overseas players

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