Assam's Jintimoni Kalita to play for Mumbai Indians in Women's Premier League opener

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to launch the Women’s Premier League, a new initiative aimed at popularizing cricket among young girls in the country. The tournament will be held along the lines of the highly successful Indian Premier League (IPL) and will feature some of the top female cricketers in the country.

The Women’s Premier League is set to kick off on March 4 at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The opening match of the tournament will feature the Ambani-owned Mumbai Indians and the Adani-owned Gujarat Giants. Jintimoni Kalita, a 19-year-old cricketer from Assam, will be representing the Mumbai Indians in the match.

Kalita, a left-handed batter and medium pace bowler, was enlisted by the Mumbai Indians franchise for Rs 10 lakh. She is the only player from Assam to participate in the Women’s Premier League and has been hailed as one of the rising stars in the country's female cricketing circuit.

Kalita has previously been included in the Challengers Trophy on two occasions, before eventually being drafted into the Indian Under-19 Women’s Quadrangular series that took place last year. Although she couldn't make it to the final team led by Shafali Verma, she was on the list of probable players for the inaugural U-19 World Cup.

The Mumbai Indians will be led by captain Harmanpreet Kaur, while the Gujarat Giants will be led by Beth Mooney. The tournament promises to be a thrilling showcase of female cricketing talent in the country, with some of the biggest names in the sport set to participate. The Women's Premier League is a much-needed step towards promoting women's cricket in India and inspiring young girls to take up the sport.
Earlier on 3rd March, Guwahati's Rajni Basnet Kalita was appointed as one of the match referees of the 1st Women's Premier League (WPL). 
Kalita hails from Boragaon, Guwahati. 
The WPL matches will be held in Mumbai and tickets for the inaugural season of WPL have gone on sale, with women receiving free admission.
The league kicks off on March 4th (Saturday). Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians will play in the opening game at Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium. 
The 22 matches of this season's event, which is open to women and girls, is free. The BookMyShow app estimates that tickets for men and boys cost, respectively, Rs 100 and Rs 400.
Bollywood stars Kriti Sanon and Kiara Advani will perform at the Tata WPL 2023 opening ceremony, along with music icon AP Dhillon. 
The Jio Cinema app will offer free live streaming of the competition and with the Sports18 Network, audiences can watch all the action live.