Indian T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will sport Mumbai Indians' jersey in the 2023 Women's Premier League, having been bought by the franchise for Rs 1.80 crore.
Mumbai has also announced that Kaur will be their captain this coming season, that gets underway on 4 March 2023.
Harmanpreet was the first Indian cricketer to play 100 T20Is and is renowned around the world for her clean-hitting abilities. She was also the first Indian woman to score a century in T20Is during the 2018 ICC Women's T20 World Cup and led the country to runners-up finish in the 2020 edition of the tournament.
She is currently captaining the side in the ongoing 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa.
"We have been waiting for this moment for a long time and finally the time has come. I am looking forward to that. We are going to get a huge amount of talent from this tournament. Domestic players are going to get to play with and against overseas players in a lot of matches. That's something we are looking forward to seeing," Harmanpreet had been quoted as saying by JioCinema about the WPL auction.
The inaugural edition of the WPL will be played in Mumbai from 4 March to 26 March. A total of 22 matches will be played, with the Brabourne Stadium and D.Y. Patil Stadium playing hosts to the marquee tournament comprising Gujarat Giants, UP Warriorz, Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
A total of 448 players are going under the hammer today in the auction in Mumbai of which 246 are Indians and 163 are overseas players. The total number of capped players are 202, uncapped players are 199. A maximum of 90 slots are available with the five teams, with 30 being slotted for overseas players.
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