Harmanpreet Kaur to lead Mumbai Indians in WPL 2023

Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur will lead Mumbai Indians in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League, the franchise announced on Wednesday (March 1). The middle-order batter was bought for INR 1.8 crore in the last month's auction.

"As the national captain, she has led the Indian Women's team to some of their most exciting wins," Mumbai Indians owner Nita Ambani said in a statement. 

"And I am sure that with Charlotte (Edwards, head coach) and Jhulan's (Goswami, bowling coach and mentor) support, she will inspire our MI women's team to play their best cricket, display a sense of pride, and bring even more glory to women in sports."

In the recently-concluded T20 World Cup in South Africa, India made it through to the semi-finals under her leadership. Harmanpreet hammered 52 off 34 in that knockout match but India still couldn’t topple Australia, the eventual champions.

Harmanpreet, who recently became the first cricketer to play 150 T20Is, has captained India in 11 ODIs and 96 T20Is. 

Apart from Harmanpreet, Mumbai also have Natalie Sciver-Brunt,  Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar and Yastika Bhatia in their set-up. 

Mumbai will be involved in the tournament-opener against Gujarat Giants on March 4 at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy.