Women's T20 Challenge: Chance for J&K girl Jasia Akhtar to rub shoulders with superstars

J&K will also have its representation through Jasia Akhtar, the best woman player to have emerged from the valley and is expected to play her part for Mandhana's Trailblazers

The Women's T20 Challenge will begin on Monday at Jaipur that will provide an ideal opportunity to the younger Indian players to raise their level in the company of the game's biggest stars. The biggest takeaway from the four games could be the opportunity for the 27 Indian players in the three teams. Jammu and Kashmir will also have its representation through Jasia Akhtar, the best woman player to have emerged from the valley and is expected to play her part for Mandhana's Trailblazers team. Three teams -- Trailblazers, Supernovas and Velocity -- will play each other in the round robin format. Harmanpreet Kaur's Supernovas take on Smriti Mandhana's Trailblazers in the opening game. With the BCCI slotting the match on non-IPL days and also being televised on prime time, the tournament is the kind of boost that women's game needs in India. India's veteran ODI skipper Mithali Raj, who will be leading the Velocity side, feels the tournament is a ‘step in the right direction’. “We need to understand that to start something different, we had to start small. Last year we had just one game and this year they have added one more team and it's a one-leg tournament. Maybe by next year or so, we might have a full-fledged league,” Mithali said. SQUADS: Supernovas: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Anuja Patil, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Mansi Joshi, Poonam Yadav, Priya Punia, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Sophie Devine (New Zealand), Natalie Sciver (England), Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka), Lea Tahuhu (New Zealand). Coach: WV Raman Trailblazers: Smriti Mandhana (capt), Bharti Fulmali, Dayalan Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Harleen Deol, Jasia Akhtar, Jhulan Goswami, R Kalpana (wk), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Suzie Bates (New Zealand), Stafanie Taylor (West Indies), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Shakera Selman (West Indies). Coach: Biju George Velocity: Mithali Raj (capt), Devika Vaidya, Ekta Bisht, Komal Zanzad, Shafali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Sushma Verma (wk), Sushree Dibyadarshini, Veda Krishnamurthy Overseas bench:Danielle Wyatt (England), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Jahanara Alam (Bangladesh). Coach: Mamatha Maben