Mumbai:The third edition of the Women's T20 Challenge is set to witness top Indian women cricketers join forces with the biggest names from England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh and New Zealand in the four-match tournament that will get underway in Sharjah from November 4.
The tournament will mark the beginning of the Indian women's cricket season following a Covid-19 induced break.
Harmanpreet Kaur-led Supernovas, the defending champions, will lock horns with Velocity, led by the veteran Mithali Raj, in the three-team tournament opener.
Let's take a look at top 10 players to watch out for in the tournament.
Top 5 Indian players to watch out for
Mithali Raj (Velocity)
Mithali Raj returns to the field as Velocity captain in this year's Women's T20 Challenge. The 37-year-old legend last featured in a T20I match in March 2019. In her 89 T20I matches, Mithali has scored 2,364 runs with an average of 37.52. Considering this, she will be expected to lead from the front when Velocity walks out to face Supernovas in the tournament opener on Wednesday.
Shafali Verma (Velocity)
Entering as one of the most exciting player of the tournament, Shafali Verma will be expected to do all the heavy lifting for Velocity. The 16-year-old is the youngest women to play for India in T20Is. The opposition will be cautious about Shafali's form after she was declared the world No. 1 batswoman in the ICC Women's T20I Player Rankings released in March this year.
She showcased her mettle at the T20 World Cup as she emerged as the fifth-highest run-scorer of the tournament and the player with the highest number of 6s. With such great potential, one could expect a similar showing in Sharjah.
Jemimah Rodrigues (Supernovas)
Jemimah Rodrigues has turned out to be the most explosive player from the Indian women's team. The 20-year-old from Mumbai was named the player of the series and the player with the highest number of runs during last year's tournament.
She grabbed attention at the Women's T20 World Cup earlier this year, scoring 85 runs in the tournament with a strike rate of 88.54. Jemimah will be an important cog in the wheel for Supernovas, who are eyeing a third consecutive title.
Harmanpreet Kaur (Supernovas)
Harmanpreet Kaur has been the most successful player in the tournament and this time, she returns eager to pocket her third title. The experienced all-rounder's career has been decorated with smashing records. She was the first woman to score a century in a women's T20I and she was the first Indian player (male and female) to play 100 T20I matches. Though her performance at the Women's T20 World Cup was a bit underwhelming, the skipper is all set to change that and saunter onto the Sharjah Cricket Stadium with renewed energy and fervour.
Smriti Mandhana (Trailblazers)
The youngest captain of Women's T20 Challenge, Smriti Mandhana will be itching to avenge her team showing from last year. The Trailblazers captain did not have a good start of the year as she underperformed at the T20 World Cup with just 49 runs in four innings. The left-handed batswoman will be expected to regain her lost form and improve her batting that will hold the Trailblazers in good stead in the tournament.
Top five foreign players to watch out for
Chamari Atapattu (Supernovas)
The current captain of Sri Lanka's women's T20I team, Chamari Atapattu is all set to grab eyeballs in the upcoming tournament. With a strike rate of 135.08, Chamari became the sixth highest run-scorer in the T20 World Cup and will be itching to replicate her performance for the Supernovas in their bid to defend the title.