The inaugural edition of the highly-anticipated Women’s Premier League (WPL) is all set to begin on March 4 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, with Mumbai Indians taking on Gujarat Giants. Notably, the first-ever WPL auction was held in Mumbai last month, where star Indian batter Smriti Mandhana became the most expensive player as she joined Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for INR 3.4 crore.
Before the 20-over competition starts, the playing conditions were announced. Unlike the upcoming season of the men’s Indian Premier League (IPL), where the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is introducing the Impact Player rule, the WPL will be without this regulation.
However, there are quite a few other provisions that are similar to the IPL. For instance, the WPL will have two strategic timeouts in each session of play and two referrals for each team in each inning. Further, in case of a tie at the end of the regular 40 overs, there will be a Super Over, and if the deadlock stays, there will be another Super Over.
When it comes to the strategic timeouts, the bowling teams have to choose between six and nine overs, while the batting side can take it between and 13th and 16th overs, each of which will have a 150-second duration time.
As far as the DRS is concerned, each team can have two unsuccessful appeals against an umpire’s verdict, and a batter has to come onto the field within 90 seconds of a dismissal. In case of delay, a warning would be given, followed by a penalty in the form of a fine. Additionally, in the context of Concussion Replacement rules, a substitute can come from the 15 players nominated before the start of a game.
In terms of qualification, the league-topper in the five-team competition will enter the final directly. The second and third-placed sides would play an Eliminator, and the winner will go into the final.
