Jets club

Maharashtra Premier League: India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, who will be captaining Ratnagiri Jets in the inaugural season of the women’s Maharashtra Premier League (MPL), believes the state-level female cricketers stand to gain a new level of professionalism through playing franchise cricket.

From Thursday, when Women’s MPL begins, Maharashtra will join the likes of Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Bengal as states having their women’s T20 franchise tournament, which also attract attendances from scouts of Women’s Premier League (WPL). “For state associations, and for Maharashtra as well, to have this sort of platform—where I touched upon the fact that there’ll be a lot of eyes from WPL scouts—and also, of course, these sorts of performances can serve as a benchmark for people to get into the state side as well.

“So, I mean, to have that is great. And more importantly, I always believe that franchise cricket brings a different sort of professionalism into the sport, and for the girls—the state-level girls—to experience that, I’m sure they’ll be well-prepped when they go to the next level.