Women’s Premier League Mascot 'Shakti' Unveiled; BCCI Secretary Jay Shah Shares Video

Cricket enthusiasts are all set to welcome the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 with the tournament set to begin on March 4.

The inaugural edition will see a number of top-ranked women cricketers in the world featuring in different teams of the franchise cricket tournament.

Ahead of the highly-anticipated event, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Thursday (March 2), unveiled the WPL 2023 mascot, which has been given the moniker “Shakti.”

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Board secretary Jay Shah made the news public by sharing a short animated video of the mascot on Twitter. As described by him, Shaki is as “fast, fierce and full of fire” as the Indian women’s cricketers, who have batted past numerous obstacles to achieve their present stature.

The Indian apex board’s initiative has gained a lot of traction from the Twitter population. Fans showed their appreciation in the comment section, wishing the Women’s Premier League to become a groundbreaking success. According to them, the tournament will work as a huge confidence boost for Indian players as well as other female cricketers around the globe.

A fan lauded BCCI for choosing the name “Shakti” for the WPL mascot, saying, “Women are always believed and worshipped as Shakti in India. So it’s perfect”

Another fan loved the approach of showing a tigress as the mascot and wrote, “Maa Shakti and the tigress goes a long way. Nothing could have been better than this.”

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A user urged BCCI to increase the team counts of WPL in the upcoming editions, through which the competition could achieve newer heights in future.

An exciting theme song for the inaugural Women’s Premier League was also released on Wednesday (March 1). Eminent music composer Shankar Mahadevan lent both his vocals and melody to the WPL anthem.

The song celebrated the resilience and determination of Indian women cricketers, who have conquered many challenges to climb to the top of the sport. The lyrics depict the hardships they have experienced so far and tell the story of their perseverance in overcoming them.

Ahead of the first match on March 4, a glittery opening ceremony has also been planned at Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium to mark the inauguration of the tournament.

A number of well-known celebrities including Bollywood diva Kiara Advani and Punjabi singer-composer AP Dhillion will hook the audience with their engaging performances. Shankar Mahadevan will also mark his presence at the event and sing the WPL anthem.

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Five powerhouse teams including Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals and UP Warriorz will compete during the month-long contest to take the first WPL trophy home. The first match will see Harmanpreet Kaur’s Mumbai Indians crossing swords against Beth Mooney’s Gujarat Giants in Mumbai.

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