Cricket is a religion in India. However, the limelight has been on the men's game from the start. Women's cricket never got the limelight that it deserved. Although, with BCCI trying to promote women's cricket, it is high time we track young talents from districts and villages to find the best in India. The Cricket Association of Bengal has just done that. The newly announced Byju's Bengal Women's T20 Blast will give the limelight to all the unknown faces of female cricket in Bengal. The tournament is scheduled to start on the 7th of February, 2022.

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The Cricket Association of Bengal has already arranged two seasons of the Bengal T20 Challenge for the men's cricketers. Now, they have given a chance to the girls from Bengal to showcase their talent on the bigger stage. The tournament will have six teams from the Kolkata Maidan. East Bengal, Kalighat, Aryan, Mohammedan Sporting, Town Club and Rajasthan Club are the teams to participate in the tournament. 90 players were drafted in six teams on Wednesday.

CAB President Avishek Dalmiya's take on the tournament

CAB President Avishek Dalmiya delivered the inaugural speech. Along with him CAB Jt secy Debabrata Das, Tour, Fixture & Technical committee chairman Subhankar Ghosh Dastidar, Players' benevolent and benefit fund committee chairman Santanu Mitra, Women's National selector Mithu Mukherjee, Women's cricket committee chairman Shyama Dey (Shaw), Women's Selection Committee chairman Chandana Mukherjee and BCCI match referee Moumita Chakraborty were present on the dias.

"We are very happy to resume our local tournaments, which were stalled because of the recent Covid19 surge. We have been contemplating over the last few years that club cricket in the women's segment must begin. We tried to start this tournament last season but due to Covid we had to cancel at the last moment. We are extremely happy to start the tournament this year. It's not going to be a one-off tournament and we will be working keenly to make it better with each passing year.

CAB President Avishek Dalmiya via CAB Media

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Md. Nasim, a representative from Mohammedan Sporting Club said, "This is a great initiative by the CAB. The girls from various parts of Bengal will get a chance to showcase their game. This will strengthen the Bengal cricket as well." Meanwhile, they are also planning to give extra incentives to players if they do well in the tournament. "Our secretary, Mr Deepak Kumar Singh has already given his words to provide extra incentives to all the players if we do well in the tournament", he added.

Byju's Bengal Women's T20 Blast will also see nearly half of the girls from outside Kolkata. Therefore, unseen talents from the outskirts of Bengal will have the spotlight on them for the first time. Abhijit Chaudhuri, head coach of Nadia District Women's Cricket team said, "We are thankful to CAB for taking such an initiative. The girls from our district have done very well in the last few years. This tournament will help young girls to knock the doors of the Bengal team if they do well."

Read Also: Smriti Mandhana: 'It was amazing to watch our bowlers dominate Australia'

Jhumia Khatun, a Senior Women's cricketer from Bengal said, "Earlier we used to get very less matches to prepare for the bigger stages. This will give us to matches to prepare for the upcoming T20 Board matches." Meanwhile, Jhumia believes that with a great combination of juniors and senior cricketers in the team, they have a great chance to perform well in the tournament. "I will be focusing on playing till the last ball of the match as a batter to ensure a win for my team," she added. Jhumia will be playing for Aryan Club in the tournament.

Just like the major leagues in the world, Byju's Bengal Women's T20 Blast will give a chance to young players to share the dressing room with bigger guns of cricket. Barnali Tamuli, a pacer who will don the East Bengal jersey thinks the same as well. "Sharing the dressing room with the seniors like Rumeli Dhar is something I am looking for." Moreover, she is also prepared to learn the art of swing from veteran all-rounder of Bengal Cricket. "None have a better wrist position than Rumeli di. I am very excited to learn from her", she added.

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Meanwhile, Anamika Das drafted in Town Club as a wicket-keeper batter hopes to knock the doors of U25 team via this tournament. "I know I am the second wicket-keeper in the squad. However, I am hopeful I will have a chance to prove myself as a wicket-keeper batter in these 10 matches." Town Club also have senior Bengal wicket-keeper Parna Paul in the team as well. "I want to add value to my team and looking forward to contribute as much as possible," Anamika shared over a phone call to Sportz Point.

However, the eyes will be on the players who has not been in any Bengal squad recently. Sonali Mondal, a left-handed batter who stays nearly 100km away from Kolkata, hopes this tournament can change her career. "This is a great opportunity for upcoming players like us. I want to learn and grow as much as possible from this tournament." Sonali will be part of Rajasthan team which will be led by young sensation Dhara Gujjar.

Byju's Bengal Women's T20 Blast: Drafted players

The most interesting part of the Byju's Bengal Women's T20 Blast is that every team has a female coach and a female mentor in every squad. This also suggest who much strength CAB has in their structure of Women's Cricket.

All the matches of the Byju's Bengal Women's T20 Blast will be telecasted live on Fan Code App. All the matches will be played at Bengal Cricket Ground, Kalyani.

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Seven out of seven wins. Invincible Pune Warriors defeated all the odds to come out victorious in the Women's Maharashtra Premier League 2025. 

While other franchises had big names, such as Smriti Mandhana, Tejal Hasabnis, and Kiran Navgire, among many other stars of the women's game, Pune Warriors had a clear plan and strategy. 

With only prominent names in Anuja Patil and Shweta Mane, the Pune Warriors Women's team depended on clear thoughts, executions and camaraderie to win the league. Team analyst Gaanesh Tyagi shared all the secrets in an exclusive interview with Sportz Point.

Gaanesh is a high performance analyst from Mumbai, who has worked for more than 10 T20 franchise teams. He was also the analyst of the Mumbai Cricket team, which won their first ever Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament in 2023.

The team combination: All-rounders, effectiveness and youth

Even before stepping onto the field to win the tournament, teams must first succeed in a different battle during the draft or auction. This is where many teams secure half of their victory. Women’s cricket has different demands than men’s cricket, and in T20 cricket, the need for strong all-rounders reaches its peak. 

With captain Anuja Patil being the perfect all-rounder for the team, the coaching staff opted for additional all-rounders to effectively manage the middle overs. 

"The entire coaching staff and captain Anuja Patil were involved in building the team. We aimed to have more all-rounders while also featuring skilled individuals for every situation in the game,” Gaanesh explained to Sportz Point. 

Read Also: In a first, 10 UAE batters retire out in ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025

The roadmap and planning

During their initial meeting with the players, captain Anuja and the coaching staff discussed a comprehensive plan for winning the tournament. This provided every player with a clear roadmap and clarity on how they needed to prepare for each aspect of the game.

"In that first meeting, we talked about how we should be winning the tournament. Each player knew their role within the team, which helped provide a clear roadmap for everyone,” Gaanesh added.

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"Bowlers win you tournaments"

This phrase has become quite popular in world cricket. Even in the Indian Premier League, the team with the superior bowling combination often performs better. Analysts play a crucial role here by offering insights on optimal lengths, lines, speeds, and determining who should bowl at various stages of the game.

For Pune Warriors, prior to each match, analysts would provide each bowler with a specific plan to tackle all potential batters they might face.

"In women’s cricket, understanding lengths is crucial. Knowing what length to bowl against which batter is key. We had strategies for each opponent.

"So, it was all about execution on the field, which our bowlers accomplished successfully. That’s why we had two bowlers, Chinmayee Bhorpale (the Purple Cap winner) and Anuja Patil, in the top five highest wicket-takers list," Gaanesh stated. 

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Anuja Patil- the Boss Lady

When you have a young and relatively inexperienced team, it’s essential to have someone who can guide each player. Just as the Rajasthan Royals had Shane Warne, Pune Warriors had Anuja Patil. 

Anuja, who has played 50 T20Is for the Indian national team, possesses the knowledge necessary to win cricket matches. With her leadership, every young player learned how to approach each match to achieve victory.

"We affectionately called her the 'Boss Lady.'

The entire team respected and followed her decisions. In tournaments like this, a clear direction is crucial, and Anuja provided the guidance we needed with her experience."

Read Also: Bengal Women's Cricket Exclusive: Two out of two finals, record chase against Haryana, Jhulan Goswami, WPL and more

The Mix of Youth and Experience

Balancing the mix of youth and experience in team building can be challenging. Some players on the squad were born after Anuja and Shweta Mane began their cricket careers.

There was a noticeable gap in age and experience, so the team needed to blend these elements effectively to perform at their best.

Both Anuja and Mane acted as both friends and firm mentors, fostering a harmonious environment that brought out the best in young players like 17-year-old Akshaya Jadhav, 16-year-old Suhani Kahandal, and U-23 player Khushi Mulla, who ended up being the fourth-highest run-scorer of the tournament.

"Youth at the top and experince in the middle"

Although the powerplay and death overs seem to be entertaining, it is the middle overs that decide the winner in a T20 game. Be it with the bat or ball, the 7-15 overs of a T20I game are the most crucial overs.

That is why Pune Warriors had the plan of having the most experienced players playing the middle order, be it with the bat or ball. 

That even allowed youngsters like Khushi Mulla, Suhani Kahandal and Akshaya Jadhav to have the freedom to enjoy the game. 

"The middle overs control the outcome of the game. We even saw Smriti Mandhana batting in the middle order for Ratnagiri Jets. So, from the start of the tournament, we wanted to have experince in the middle overs and youth at the top," Gaanesh explained. 

"Discipline, calmness and execution"

Winning all seven of your games is a significant challenge, and in T20 cricket, it’s nearly impossible to maintain that momentum throughout.

However, according to Gaanesh, if the team maintains discipline, calmness, and focuses on execution, the chances of not losing become greater.

He recounted the last over of the final match against Solapur Smashers: “We needed to defend 9 from 6 and it became 4 from 4. But we kept calm under pressure and executed well to win the title.”

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What's next?

Whenever a team without many superstars win any tournament, there comes a question of whether they will be able to continue that in the next season. We have seen it with the Rajasthan Royals in the past as well.

Since winning the inaugural season, they have not been able to win any trophies. What's the secret sauce to keep winning? 

"Process," Gaanesh said. 

He feels all the youngsters who got a bit of fame and name from this season need to aim for bigger goals and achievements. This is how they will be able to keep them ready for next season. Most importantly, they need to focus on the process which has given them results.

Indian star opener Smriti Mandhana has regained the number one spot in the women's ICC ODI rankings for the first time since November 2019, according to the latest update released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday.

Also Read: ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 Full Schedule announced; India to face Pakistan on October 5

Mandhana surpassed Wolvaardt to claim top spot

The 28-year-old Mandhana has moved up one place to return to the top spot while South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt has slipped to joint second place with new England skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt after scoring 27 and 28 in the first two ODIs against the West Indies.

Mandhana now sits comfortably with 727 rating points after Wolvaardt held the top spot for over six months. The Indian star batsman has been in great form lately and scored the 11th century of her career, amassing 264 runs across five outings with a 52.80 averae and a strike rate of 90.41 during India's recent tri-series final against Sri Lanka and South Africa in Colombo.

Mandhana named ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year

The India vice-captain had a stellar run in ODIs in 2024, following which she was named as the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year, scoring more runs than she ever has before in a calendar year, racking up 747 runs in 13 innings. Mandhana is one of only four women to record at least 10 centuries, with her 4473 runs standing 10th on the all-time charts.

Mandhana’s rating points currently eight ahead of newly-appointed England skipper Natalie Sciver-Brunt at 719 points. Wolvaardt dropped to equal second alongside Sciver-Brunt, while fellow South African’s Tazmin Brits (up five spots to 27th) and Sune Luus (up seven places to 42nd) are among the big movers this week on the list for ODI batters.

Jemimah Rodrigues and captain Harmanpreet Kaur, being the only other Indian batters in the top 30, placed at 15th and 16th, respectively.

Women's ICC ODI Rankings

The schedule of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 has been released. The Women's World Cup will begin on September 30 with hosts India playing their first match against Sri Lanka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Also Read: BCCI announce Indian women's squad for ODI and T20I series against England

The eight-team tournament will be a round-robin format with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals. The much-awaited final will be played on November 2. Australia will begin their campaign against New Zealand on October 1 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.

India vs Pakistan Match details

Due to tension between India and Pakistan, Pakistan will play all its matches in Colombo, Sri Lanka under the hybrid hosting model agreed upon by BCCI and PCB. In such a situation, the teams playing with Pakistan including India will go to Colombo, which is a neutral venue.

The most awaited match of the group stage between India and Pakistan will be played on 5th October in Colombo.

Women's Cricket World Cup 2025: Venues

• India : Bengaluru, Guwahati, Indore, Visakhapatnam 
• Sri Lanka : Colombo

The tournament will be held at five major venues in the two countries. Bengaluru and Colombo have been shortlisted as potential hosts for the final.

Women's Cricket World Cup 2025: Full Schedule

Kanishk Seth, during his U-19 days with Bengal, was seen as a future star. A batchmate of Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ishan Porel, and others, Seth quickly made a name for himself with his left-arm pace bowling.

However, fate had different plans for him. Just before the ICC U-19 World Cup, he suffered an injury, which led to Khaleel Ahmed replacing him. Ahmed later went on to represent India. 

Seth was also on the verge of joining the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team in 2022, but a registration issue cost him that opportunity. Harshit Rana took his place and subsequently played for India. 

Throughout his career, Kanishk has encountered several setbacks, some beyond his control and others due to circumstances he could have influenced. In search of stability, he joined Railways for the 2020/21 season, a decision he now considers a mistake. After leaving the Railways and paying a sum of INR 15.75 lakhs, Kanishk has returned to his roots in Bengal.

After a great season with Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and East Bengal in club cricket, the left-arm pacer allrounder is now looking to go one level up at the Bengal Pro T20 League 2025.

In an exclusive interview with Sportz Point before playing his first match for the Adamas Howrah Warriors, Kanishk reflected on his journey. 

Read Also | Exclusive: Advised by Sourav Ganguly, Abishek Porel gets coached by Yuvraj Singh; this is what he learned

Return to Bengal from Railways

He made his T20 debut back in 2015, when he was a rookie in Bengal cricket. Although he had the potential to become one of Bengal's finest players, he had to wait a long time to become a consistent presence on the team.

"I went to the Railways to have some financial security in my life. I feel that was a bad decision, and I should have stayed in Bengal," Kanishk told Sportz Point. 

"Later on, I realised that a kid always had to come to his home to feel better. And, I feel better whenever I play for Bengal. Thanks for C.A.B. the way they took care of me when I wanted to return to Bengal," the left-arm pacer added. 

"I always aimed to return at 200% more than what I was when I left Bengal. I think those years of intensive training really paid off," Kanishk remarked.

Read Also | Exclusive: "I would love to see more sixes, more runs," Shreevats Goswami wants bigger scores in Bengal Pro T20 League 2025

Learnings from CSK

In 2018, Kanishk was bought by Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Even though he didn't get to play a game, the experience taught him invaluable lessons that he is now applying in his game. "At CSK, multiple international captains were part of one team, offering a unique learning environment. I am grateful for the experiences and memories from my time there."

"It took me 2-3 years to translate those learnings into my gameplay, but I'm finally seeing the results now."

Throughout those years, his former teammates from U-19 cricket have advanced in their careers. Ishan Porel nearly broke into the Indian team, Abhimanyu Easwaran is on the verge of making his Test debut, and Akash Deep has already represented India. Despite this, Kanishk remains unfazed.

"I don't mind my journey being different. Everyone has their path. I feel happiest when someone from my batch achieves success, whether it's playing for India or the IPL. They all deserve it," he said. 

Read Also | Bengal Cricket: 7 U-19 cricketers from Bengal who can play for India in future

"IPL teams demand clarity and execution"

Currently, Kanishk is focused on reaching the next level and helping his team succeed. After attending numerous IPL trials, he has a clearer understanding of what teams look for in a player and is working on those aspects.

"IPL franchises look for clarity. You should have the skill to bowl six consecutive Yorkers if needed, and you must execute effectively over 80% of the time to play at that level," Kanishk explained.

That is when fellow Bengal players like Shahbaz Ahmed, who is one of the key players in the IPL, help him with information. During the Bengal Pro T20 League 2024, Sportz Point noticed how Shahbaz was sharing how Kanishk's slower ball was getting picked easily.

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"Shahbaz was saying even at the start of the run-up, he was picking that I was going to bowl a slower ball. I worked on that in the off-season and got Hardik (Pandya), Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma out with that slower ball," Kanishk stated. 

Throughout his journey, Kanishk has seen many opportunities slip through his fingers, whether it was playing in the IPL or missing out on the ICC U-19 World Cup. However, he now knows what to do and how to respond to life’s challenges.

With the Adamas Howrah Warriors, Kanishk aims to be a valuable contributor—whether it’s bowling at the start or end of an innings, scoring runs, or taking crucial catches. He is determined to make a mark in the Bengal Pro T20 League. 

"Only winners get noticed in cricket. I want to help the team win. That's it. I hope I will be able to do that," he concluded.

Abishek Porel, the Bengal and Delhi Capitals wicket-keeper, had a decent IPL 2025 with the bat in hand. Just like the 2024 season, he was trusted to bat at the top of the order alongside some of the biggest names in world cricket.

But the season did not turn out the way he would have liked. On most occasions, he got out after getting the start. 

Porel averaged only 25.08, a drop from the 2024 season's 32.70. The main reason for that was him getting out on 30-40 after getting a decent start for his team, Delhi Capitals. And, he knows it hurt his own performance and the team as well. 

That is why Sourav Ganguly wanted the youngster to visit Yuvraj Singh and get some valuable learnings ahead of the Bengal Pro T20 League 2025. 

It was Sourav Ganguly who gave the Bengal wicket-keeper a chance to replace Rishabh Pant in IPL 2023. Porel did his part so well as an impact sub that he went on to play all 14 games for Delhi Capitals next season. Not only that, he was also retained by the franchise ahead of the mega auction.

Yuvraj Singh, one of the greatest white-ball cricketers of Indian cricket, is known for his performances in the 2011 ICC World Cup, where he emerged as the Player of the tournament, despite going through cancer. Not only that, his six sixes in an over in India's victories in the 2007 T20 World Cup are one of the most iconic moments in Indian cricket's history.

Read Also | India's 2011 World Cup winning squad: Where are they now?

After retiring from international cricket, Yuvraj Singh chose not to pursue a career in commentary. Instead, he decided to help young batters excel at the international level. He began working personally with Punjab cricketers such as Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh, Ramandeep Singh, and several others.

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All of these Punjab batters did exceedingly well after getting trained by Yuvraj. Shubman Gill's career graph went up as he became Indian's latest test captain. Meantime, Abhishek Sharma went on to debut for India T20I format.

After a decent season where Porel feels he could have been better, a session with Yuvraj Singh is what he needed to get everything sorted. The youngster thus went for a camp held by Yuvraj Singh in Delhi, where players like Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, and Prabhsimran Singh were also there.

"Sourav (Ganguly) sir wanted me to visit Yuvraj Singh to learn from one of the greatest batters of Indian cricket. It was all about getting to know how to be ready for the international stage," Porel told Sportz Point in an exclusive interview. 

"We worked on a few basic things, and you know if you stay around a man like Yuvraj Singh, you will get to learn more. I will visit the camp again and will learn more things from him," Porel added. 

Abishek is leading the Lux Shyam Kolkata Tigers in the Bengal Pro T20 League 2025. In his state's own league, Porel now wants to rectify all of those mistakes he made in IPL 2025 and work on some individual things while leading the team to success. 

"I would love to get through that 30-40 runs zone and score more runs to help the team. That is the goal. Even Sourav (Ganguly) sir also told me that 30-40s are not enough, and I need to score more and look for hundreds," Porel shared.