It’s official, the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) announces the return of Women’s T20 Challenge post two years of dormancy. The games will be held in Pune, Maharashtra alongside IPL playoffs.
“The best of Indian Women’s cricket will combine with some of the leading stars from South Africa, England, West Indies and Australia. A total of twelve international players will compete in this year’s Women’s T20Challenge,” announced the BCCI in a media release.
The BCCI first started the Women’s T20 Challenge tournaments back in 2018 with just two teams and a one-off match. In 2019, BCCI introduced one new team where each side played the other once and the top two sides progressed to the finals. UAE hosted the Women’s T20 Challenge in 2020, following which it was put on a back burner due to the COVID pandemic.
This year, the tournament makes a comeback, where three teams will be in contention for the title, with a total of four matches going live. Although, this could be the last season of the Women’s T20 challenge, with BCCI President Sourav Ganguly hinting that a full-fledged women’s IPL will be held in 2023 with 5-6 teams competing in the league.
The 2022 edition of the Women’s T20 Challenge will be played from May 23rd to May 28 at Pune’s MCA stadium. The Supernovas, Trailblazers and Velocity will be the three teams contesting in the event and Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma have been handed the captaincy responsibilities.
Barely, a few days left before the commencement of the tournament, let’s take a look at the Women’s T20 Challenge schedule and team.
Women’s T20 Challenge 2022 Schedule: All the Games Scheduled for MCA Pune
The three teams, each comprising 16 players, were picked by the All-India Women’s Selection Committee. The best of Indian women’s cricket will grace the crease with some of the notable names from South Africa, England, West Indies and Australia. A total of twelve international players will partake in this year’s women’s T20 challenge.
The opening game of the Women’s T20 Challenge 2022 tournament will be played between defending champions Trailblazers and Supernovas on May 23rd and will begin at 7:30 PM. The Supernovas will be playing the afternoon fixture against Velocity on May 24th with the match starting at 3:30 PM.
Velocity will face the Trailblazers on May 26th in the evening at 7:30 PM. The tournament final, which will be following the round-robin format, will take place on May 28th at 7:30 PM and will be played between the top two teams out of the three.
| Date | Fixture | Time |
| May-23 | Trailblazers vs Supernovas | 7:30 pm |
| May-24 | Supernovas vs Velocity | 3:30 pm |
| May-26 | Velocity vs Trailblazers | 7:30 PM |
| May-28 | Final | 7:30 PM |
Women’s T20 Challenge 2022: A Look at Squads of all Three Teams
With big changes in the line-up, Mithali Raj will be replaced with Deepti Sharma and Sneha rana, who led railways to win the Senior Women’s T20Trophy, will be the vice-captain of Velocity
Twelve overseas players – four in each side – from Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh and Thailand will feature in the Women’s T20 challenge, which returns after 2020.
England skipper Heather Knight, World No.1 T20I spinner Sophie Ecclestone and Australian tweaker of Anglo-Indian descent, Alana King, are among the international players to take part in the 2022 Women’s T20 Challenge. Right-handed batter Sophia Dunkley is also set to play against her English peers.
West Indies all-rounders Deandra Dottin and Hayley Matthews along with South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp and Laura Wolvaardt will also be part of the championship. The 26-year-old King is the only Australian to feature in the tournament. The spinner had decent outings for the Perth Scorchers, after which she donned the national colours in the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand.
Thailand’s Natthakan Chantham, who impressed with her fielding skills in the last edition, will don the Velocity purple this time while Salma Khatun and Sharmin Akhter make it from Bangladesh to play for the Trailblazers in 2022 edition of Women’s T20 challenge.
The absence of seasoned veterans like Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey and Mithali Raj has raised some eyebrows, but the All-India Women’s Selection Committee assures the focus is towards bigger things.
Supernovas |
|
| Harmanpreet Kaur (c) | Monica Patel |
| Taniya Bhatia | Muskan Mailk |
| Alana Kin | Pooja Vastrakar |
| Ayushi Soni | Priya Punia |
| Chandu V | Rashi Kanojia |
| Deandra Dottin | Sophie Ecclestone |
| Harleen Deol | Sune Luus |
| Meghna Singh | Mansi Joshi |
Trailblazers |
|
| Smriti Mandhana © | SV Pokhrarkar |
| Poonam Yadav | Sharmin Akhter |
| Arundhati Reddy | Sujata Mailk |
| Hayley Matthews | Sophia Dunkley Brown |
| Jemimah Rodrigues | Salma Khatun |
| Priyanka Priyadarshini | Saiqa Ishaque |
| Rajeshwari Gayakwad | S Meghana |
| Renuka Singh | Richa Ghosh |
Velocity |
|
| Deepti Sharma (c) | Sneh Rana |
| Shafali Verma | Ayabonga Khaka |
| KP Navgire | Kathryn Cross |
| Keerthi James | Laura Wolvaardt |
| Natthakan Chantam | Maya Sonawane |
| Aarti Kedar | Shivali Shinde |
| Radha Yadav | Simran Bahadur |
| Yastika Bhatia | Pranavi Chandra |
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