Having finished her illustrious 22-year-old international cricket career with more than 10,000 runs, former India captain Mithali Raj remains open to playing in the inaugural edition of Women's India Premier League (WIPL), set to start next year. (More Cricket News)
After four successful seasons of Women’s T20 Challenge, the BCCI has agreed to conduct a full-fledged WIPL from 2023 which is likely to be a six-team tournament to start with. “I'm keeping that option open. I've not yet decided,” Mithali said.
“There are a few more months to go before the women's IPL happens. It would be lovely to be part of the first edition of the women's IPL,” added the legendary cricketer on ICC's 100 percent 'Cricket Podcast'.
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Meanwhile, Mithali has termed young India opener Shafali Verma as one in a generation cricketer and belongs to a rare breed of players. She is at the kind of ‘raw power’ that the 18-year-old generates in her shots.
“I have been a big fan of her game. I have seen that she's one player who has the ability to win the game single-handedly for India against any attack and any team. She is one of those players that you get to see probably once in a generation,” she said.
Shafali made an instant impression on Mithali on India's domestic circuit. “When I saw Shafali in a domestic match when she played against Indian Railways, she scored a fifty but I could see a glimpse of a player who could change the entire match just with her innings,” said Mithali.
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“And when she played for Velocity in the first edition of the Challenger Trophy, she played for my team and I saw that she has the ability and the raw power that you rarely get to see at that age to clear the boundary and hit a six at will.”
