The Women’s Premier League will take place in Mumbai from March 4 to 24.
The new franchise competition will have five teams, representing Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Lucknow.
Described as the women’s version of the Indian Premier League, the amount of cash involved in the competition has never before been seen in the female game.
Who are the teams?
Three of the five teams are IPL-affiliated. A sister team of the Mumbai Indians will have Charlotte Edwards, the former England captain, as their coach, having landed a WPL side for $111m.
The Royal Challengers-associated side to represent Bangalore cost $110m. Delhi Capitals’ owners bought a WPL team for $99m.
The two remaining sides both have links to the UAE’s DP World International League T20. Adani Sportsline, who own ILT20-title chasing Gulf Giants, bid $158m for the Ahmedabad side.
Capri Global, whose Sharjah Warriors exited the ILT20 at the league phase, own the Lucknow side in WPL, having paid $93m.
When is the auction?
Players are set to be recruited via an auction in Mumbai on Monday, February 13.
Leading Indian players like Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma have a base price of around $60,000.
That is the same value for overseas stars such as Sophie Ecclestone, the England spinner, Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner, and Sophie Devine, the New Zealand batter.
Could a UAE player be selected?
The organisers have stipulated each squad should have a minimum of 15 players and a maximum of 18.
This will include seven overseas players, five of whom can play in the starting XI – as long as one of those selected is from an associate nation – such as the UAE.
Out of the 409 players on the list for the auction, eight are from Associate countries. That includes Thailand opener Natthakan Chantham, who played in the Women’s T20 Challenge, which was the three-team event that was the forebear for the WPL.
Ka Ying Chan, from Hong Kong, Tara Norris, of United States, and Netherlands’ Sterre Kalis are all on the list, as well as four UAE players.
Who are the UAE players?
As the ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Year for 2022, it is likely Esha Oza will be among the most sought after players from beyond the Test nations.
Theertha Satish, who once trialled for India’s U17s football team, is also highly-regarded having played alongside international stars at the FairBreak Invitational in Dubai last year.
The wicketkeeper batter captained UAE at the U19 World Cup in South Africa last month.
Two schoolgirls are also on the list. Mahika Gaur, who was born in England and recently moved back there for boarding school, but was brought up in Dubai, is a left-arm quick bowler.
Vaishnave Mahesh is a promising leg-spin bowler. She only turned 16 in December.
How much do they stand to make?
The UAE players all have a base price of around $12,000. So some way short of the salaries set to be fetched by the higher-profile stars – but still enough to make it worthwhile asking for time off school.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlanRadar%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2013%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EIbrahim%20Imam%2C%20Sander%20van%20de%20Rijdt%2C%20Constantin%20K%C3%B6ck%2C%20Clemens%20Hammerl%2C%20Domagoj%20Dolinsek%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVienna%2C%20Austria%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EConstruction%20and%20real%20estate%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E400%2B%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20B%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Headline%2C%20Berliner%20Volksbank%20Ventures%2C%20aws%20Gr%C3%BCnderfonds%2C%20Cavalry%20Ventures%2C%20Proptech1%2C%20Russmedia%2C%20GR%20Capital%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
The specs
Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric
Transmission: n/a
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 659Nm
Price estimate: Dh200,000
On sale: Q3 2022
MATCH INFO
League Cup, last 16
Manchester City v Southampton, Tuesday, 11.45pm (UAE)
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS
AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas
DevisionX – manufacturing
Event Gates – security and manufacturing
Farmdar – agriculture
Farmin – smart cities
Greener Crop – agriculture
Ipera.ai – space digitisation
Lune Technologies – fibre-optics
Monak – delivery
NutzenTech – environment
Nybl – machine learning
Occicor – shelf management
Olymon Solutions – smart automation
Pivony – user-generated data
PowerDev – energy big data
Sav – finance
Searover – renewables
Swftbox – delivery
Trade Capital Partners – FinTech
Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment
Workfam – employee engagement
