Smriti Mandhana among icon players in inaugural Women's Maharashtra Premier League

RCB`s Smriti Mandhana, Shreyanka Patil (Pic: AFP)

India women's team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana was on Sunday unveiled as one of the icon players for the inaugural edition of the Women's Maharashtra Premier League (WMPL), which will be held in June this year.

The Maharashtra Cricket Association made the formal announcement of the franchise-based T20 tournament featuring four teams which will be held under the aegis of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the state governing body said.

"MCA will be the first association from the BCCI to start a state league for women," the MCA said in a release.

The tournament will be held at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here in Gahunje from June 24.

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Among the icon players in the tournament will be Mandhana, Devika Vaidya, Anuja Patil, Kiran Navgire and Shraddha Pokharkar.

The Women's Maharashtra Premier League will have a price money of Rs 20 lakh for the winning side and Rs 10 lakh for the runner-up along with other individual prizes.

The auction for teams will be held on April 27 whereas the auction for the players will be on May 11.

For the unversed, RCB under Madhana won the WPL 2024 title with an eight-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals in the final. Batting first, DC were bowled out for 113 in 18.3 overs. RCB chased down the target of 114 with three balls to spare, much to the disappointment of the weekend crowd that turned out to support the home team.

With Shafali Verma (44 off 27 balls) going great guns, DC were cruising at 64 for no loss in 43 balls before they committed harakiri, losing 10 wickets for just 49 runs. Spinners Shreyanka Patil (4/12) and Sophie Molineux (3/20) helped RCB stage a remarkable recovery after Shafali's exploits at the top of the order.

(With agency inputs)