The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the squads for the Women’s T20 Challenge, to be played in Dubai on the sidelines of the ongoing Indian Premier League.
Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj have been named to respectively lead Supernovas, Trailblazers and Velocity.
The three teams will compete in the upcoming Women’s T20 Challenge, slated for November 4 to 9. The players will assemble in Mumbai on October 13, Tuesday, and spend a week in quarantine before flying to Dubai where the teams will have to spend another week in quarantine.
The players will be tested extensively for the COVID-19 infection prior to their departure and after arrival in the UAE.
The best of Indian women’s cricket will combine with some of the leading stars from England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh and New Zealand in the four-match tournament, which is being seen as a precursor to the long-awaited women’s IPL.
Thailand’s Natthakan Chantham, who scored her country’s first Women’s T20 World Cup half-century, adds another feather to her cap as she will become the first Thai cricketer to feature in the tournament.
The All-India Women’s Selection Committee picked the following three squads:
| Supernovas | Trailblazers | Velocity |
| Harmanpreet Kaur (C) | Smriti Mandhana (C) | Mithali Raj (C) |
| Jemimah Rodrigues (VC) | Deepti Sharma (VC) | Veda Krishnamurthy (VC) |
| Chamari Atapattu | Punam Raut | Shafali Verma |
| Priya Punia | Richa Ghosh | Sushma Verma (WK) |
| Anuja Patil | D. Hemalatha | Ekta Bisht |
| Radha Yadav | Nuzhat Parween (WK) | Mansi Joshi |
| Taniya Bhatia (WK) | Rajeshwari Gayakwad | Shikha Pandey |
| Shashikala Siriwardene | Harleen Deol | Devika Vaidya |
| Poonam Yadav | Jhulan Goswami | Sushree Dibyadarshini |
| Shakera Selman | Simaran Dil Bahadur | Manali Dakshini |
| Arundhati Reddy | Salma Khatun | Leigh Kasperek |
| Pooja Vastrakar | Sophie Ecclestone | Danielle Wyatt |
| Ayushi Soni | Natthakan Chantham | Suné Luus |
| Ayabonga Khaka | Deandra Dottin | Jahanara Alam |
| Muskan Malik | Kashvee Gautam | M. Anagha |
The 2020 Women’s T20 Challenge will begin with last year’s finalist Supernovas taking on Velocity in the opening game.
The complete schedule is as below:
| Sr No. | Date | Time (UAE) | Time (IST) | Team 1 | Team 2 |
| Match 1 | 04/11/20 | 6:00 PM | 7:30 PM | Supernovas | Velocity |
| Match 2 | 05/11/20 | 2:00 PM | 3:30 PM | Velocity | Trailblazers |
| Match 3 | 07/11/20 | 6:00 PM | 7:30 PM | Trailblazers | Supernovas |
| Match 4 | 09/11/20 | 6:00 PM | 7:30 PM | Final | |