Women's T20 Challenge: Full Schedule, squads, match timings and live stream details
The third edition of the Women's T20 Challenge is all set to be played between 4th November to 9th November 2020 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Ever since its inception in 2018, the tournament is played every year alongside the knockout stages of the Men's IPL.
Also known as the Women's IPL, the competition has largely been credited with unearthing domestic talent and giving the players much-needed exposure at the international circuit.
The league will be played between the three sides - Supernovas, Trailblazers and Velocity - in a round-robin format, before the top two team progress for the final game.
Along with the top players from the Indian domestic arena, the tournament also boasts of some international players from all around the world. Although with the Women's Big Bash league clashing with this competition, the four-match series will not see Australian players compete.
Women's T20 Challenge: Team previews and full squad details
Trailblazers
Trailblazers will have the elegant left-handed batter Smriti Mandhana at the helm. The youngster will be the mainstay of the batting unit for the team along with Deandra Dottin. The bowling department will be spearheaded by one the most successful bowlers in the international circuit, Jhulan Goswami.
The squad is also bolstered by the inclusion of the number one T20 bowler in the world, Sophie Ecclestone. The 21-year-old left-arm spinner is regarded as one of the best spinners in the shortest format of the game. Her recent exploits in the last edition of the Women's T20 World Cup is a small glimpse of the immense talent she possesses.
Natthakan Chantham, right-handed batter from Thailand has also been picked in the squad. She is the first player from Thailand to ever compete in the Women's Challenge.
Squad: Smriti Mandhana (c), Deepti Sharma, Punam Raut, Richa Ghosh, D Hemlatha, Nuzhat Parween, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Harleen Deol, Jhulan Goswami, Simran Dil Bahadur, Salma Khatun, Sophie Ecclestone, Natthakan Chantham, Deandra Dottin, Kashvee Gautam.
Velocity
The purple army is filled with exciting young players both from the domestic league and also from the international arena.
With Shafali Verma and Danielle Wyatt, the team comprises explosive hitters of the cricket ball. The batting unit looks stable with the likes of Mithali Raj and Veda Krishnamurthy forming a strong middle order.
The bowling, however, lacks a bit of experience. Apart from Shikha Pandey and Sune Luus, the bowling unit is relatively young and it will be interesting to see the tactics and strategy implied by skipper, Mithali Raj to help the youngsters in the side
Squad: Mithali Raj, Shafali Verma, Veda Krishnamurthy, Sushma Verma, Ekta Bisht, Meghna Singh, Shikha Pandey, Devika Vaidya, Sushree Dibyadarshini, Manali Dakshini, Leigh Kasperek, Danielle Wyatt, Sune Luus, Jahanara Alam, M Anagha.
Supernovas
The captain of the Indian team in the shortest format of the game, Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the Supernovas. The team will be gunning for their third successive title after they registered a nail-biting win over Velocity in the final game, last season.
With Jemimah Rodrigues and Chamari Atapattu along with the skipper herself, the batting looks formidable, to say the least. Poonam Yadav along with Shashikala Sriwardene will shoulder the bulk of the responsibility in the bowling department.
The Sri Lankan veteran who recently retired from international cricket will be keen to share her wealth of experience and guide this young bowling unit.
Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Chamari Atapattu, Priya Punia, Anuja Patil, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia, Shashikala Sriwardene, Poonam Yadav, Shakera Selman, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Ayushi Soni, Ayabonga Khaka, Muskan Malik.
Women's T20 Challenge live streaming details
Star Sports along with Hotstar who are the official broadcasters of the Men's IPL will telecast the Women's tournament as well.
Women's T20 Challenge 2020 fixtures
4th November, Wednesday
Supernovas vs Velocity at 7.30 PM IST
5th November, Thursday
Velocity vs Trailblazers at 3.30 PM IST
7th November, Saturday
Trailblazers vs Supernovas at 7.30 PM IST
9th November, Monday
Final at 7.30 PM IST