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Harmanpreet Kaur’s presence at the toss for the IPL 2023 Match 22 between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was a significant moment for Indian cricket. As the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team, Kaur has played a pivotal role in promoting women’s cricket in the country.
During the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023, Kaur led the champion Mumbai Indians team. Her presence at the toss for an IPL match added to her growing stature in Indian cricket. She came for the toss alongside Suryakumar Yadav, the stand-in captain for MI, KKR skipper Nitish Rana and match referee Rajiv Sethi.
Kaur was there as a representative of the 19,000 young girls who marked their attendence at the iconic Wankhede Stadium to cheer for the home side under the initiative led by MI’s Education and Sports for All (ESA). This initiative by MI aims to promote sports among young children and provide them with a chance to experience the thrill of watching live cricket at a stadium.
The MI’s ESA initiative will be a regular affair during the home-away format this year. Under it, the franchise invites children from NGOs across the city for a live game at the stadium. By doing so, they hope to inspire and nurture the next generation of cricketing talent in the city.
The presence of Kaur, who is a role model for many young girls aspiring to take up cricket, adds to the significance of this initiative.
Why was Rohit Sharma not named in MI’s starting XI?
After winning the toss and opting to field first, Suryakumar revealed that Rohit has a stomach bug and therefore, sat out. “[We] will love to bowl first, the wicket looks dry. The ball comes on to the bat nicely later. Rohit is out, he has a stomach bug. Time to put up a good show. We are going with one change, Duan Jansen comes in, rest all is same,” said SKY at the toss.
However, Rohit was named among the MI’s impact players.
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan(w), Cameron Green, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Arjun Tendulkar, Hrithik Shokeen, Piyush Chawla, Duan Jansen, Riley Meredith.
Subs: Rohit Sharma, Ramandeep Singh, Arshad Khan, Vishnu Vinod, Kumar Kartikeya.
