Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj to face each other at Sharjah
Jio and Reliance Foundation Education and Sports For All (RF ESA) partners Women’s T20 Challenge. An extension of the IPL, the Women’s T20 Challenge is being played at Sharjah between three franchises led by Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj, starting from 4 November 2020.
In addition, Nita Ambani, founder and chairperson, Reliance Foundation has offered the cricket facility at Jio Cricket Stadium, Navi Mumbai, for women cricketers. The state-of-the-art on its own, the stadium is being used to conduct trials, camps and host competitive matches, throughout the year – all free of cost. Players can also benefit from the amenities for rehabilitation and sports science available at the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre in Mumbai.
Being India’s first woman at the International Olympic Committee, Nita Ambani proudly spearheads the emergence of multi-sport culture amongst Indian youth, especially girls. Over the years, Nita Ambani has super-led Reliance Foundation Youth Sports, Jr NBA, Football Sports Development Limited, ISL Children Leagues, and IndiaWin Sports Pvt Ltd. She dreams of making India a truly multi-sports nation.
On her support for women’s cricket, Ambani said, “My heartiest congratulations to BCCI for organizing the Women’s T20 Challenge. This is a progressive step towards the growth of women’s cricket in India. I am delighted to offer my full support to this wonderful initiative. I have immense faith in the potential and capabilities of all our sportswomen.”
“Indian women cricketers have made the country proud with their outstanding achievements in ICC events over the last couple of years. Our aim is to ensure that we offer the best of infrastructure, training and rehab facilities to our girls. Players like Anjum, Mithali, Smriti, Harmanpreet and Poonam are great role models. I wish them and every member of the Indian women’s squad even greater success and glory in their journey ahead,” Mrs. Ambani added.
The pathbreaker, Mitali Raj – the captain of India’s ODI side – hope that tournaments like the Women’s T20 Challenge will unearth more new talents in the future.
“It’s good to see youngsters coming in. The best example is Shafali [Verma] – who used the Women’s T20 Challenge platform last year. She was the find of the tournament (in 2019), playing for Velocity.”
