Mithali Raj to mentor the Gujarat Titans team in Women’s IPL
New Delhi: Former India women’s team captain and veteran player Mithali Raj has been appointed as the mentor and advisor of Gujarat Giants ahead of the inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) to be held in March-April 2023.
Adani Sportsline, the sports development arm of the Adani Group, won the rights to operate the Ahmedabad team in the WPL with the highest bid of Rs 1289 crore.
Apart from being a mentor and advisor to the Giants, Mithali will also promote women’s cricket and help develop the game at the grassroots level in Gujarat, it was said in an official statement.
The inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League is a great step forward for women’s cricket and the involvement of the Adani Group is a big boost for the game as well, an official added. Women’s cricket continues to grow, and such inspiration will undoubtedly encourage young women to consider taking up cricket professionally.
It was said, We believe the high impact participation of corporates will help accelerate the process of bringing more glory to India. This level of influence can help strengthen the sports ecosystem and increase opportunities for female athletes.
Mithali has played 89 T20 matches for India and scored 2,364 runs at an average of 37.52, including 17 half-centuries. He last played a T20I for India in 2019 against England at home before announcing his retirement from the format. He continued to play ODIs and Tests before announcing his retirement in June 2022. Mithali also captained India to runners-up finishes in the 2005 and 2017 Women’s ODI World Cups.
Mithali Raj is a role model for the younger generation and we are delighted to have such an inspirational athlete to mentor our women’s cricket team. Pranav Adani, Director, Adani Enterprises, said, “We believe that the presence of an international sports hero like Mithali will attract new talent not only in cricket but in every other sport and transform the professional sports ecosystem. The inaugural edition of the WPL, comprising 22 matches, could begin in March 2023, with a player auction likely to take place in February.
