Mithali Raj All Set to Mentor Gujarat Giants in Inaugural Women’s Premier League

Former India captain Mithali Raj is set to join new Women’s Premier League franchise Gujarat Giants as mentor for the upcoming season.“Mithali Raj is now all set to mentor the Gujarat team for the inaugural Women’s Premier League. A lucrative role with the Gujarat team came her way. It’s always good to have a presence of someone like Mithali in the camp. The vast experience across formats will only benefit the team she is going to be a part of,” a source close to developments told News18 Cricketnext.Mithali has featured in 89 T20Is for the country and accumulated 2,364 runs at a healthy average of 37.52. She last played a T20I game for India back in 2019 against England at home. She continued to play ODI and Tests before announcing retirement in June 2022. Mithali has been the face of India women’s cricket for decades now and her participation in the Women’s Premier League will only boost the brand value and connect with the masses.The right-hander kept her WPL options open after announcing retirement and has finally found home in one of the five teams for the inaugural edition.The Adani Group bought the Ahmedabad franchise with the bid of Rs 1,289 crores – the highest – at the auction held by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday.The Gujarat Giants cricket franchise joins Adani Sportsline’s family of teams like the Gulf Giants in the DP World ILT20 and the Gujarat Giants in the Pro Kabaddi League.The five successful bidders for the inaugural season of WPL include Adani Sportsline Pvt Ltd (Ahmedabad), Indiawin Sports Pvt Ltd (Mumbai), Royal Challengers Sports Pvt. Ltd (Bangalore), JSW GMR Cricket Pvt Ltd (Delhi) and Capri Global Holdings Pvt Ltd. (Lucknow).BCCI Secretary Jay Shah termed January 25, 2023 as a “historic day” in cricket as bids for the Women’s Premier League broke the records of inaugural men’s IPL back in 2008.“Today is a historic day in cricket as the bidding for teams of inaugural