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Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter

ZIMBABWE senior national women’s cricket opening batter, Sharne Mayers feels the opportunity to take part in the inaugural Women Premier League (WPL) in India will be an opportunity to play with and against the best female cricketers in the world.

Mayers is among the 11 Zimbabwean female cricketers who registered for the league’s draft whose auction is scheduled for February 13 in Mumbai, India. The Lady Chevrons star is part of the 409 players that will go under the hammer at the World Jio Convention centre in the Asian nation.

Mayers said if she gets picked to take part in the inaugural event it will be a good experience for her.

“I feel the Women’s Premier League (WPL) is an opportunity to play with and against the best players in the world. It’s a challenge I would love to take on as well learn from the experience and add to the team if I am picked,” she said.

Mayers is ranked number 20 in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women T20 batting rankings and she is the highest-ranked Zimbabwean female batter in the shortest version of the game with a rating of 564 points. The following player is Modester Mupachikwa in position 29 with 533 points.

Having 11 players from Zimbabwe taking part in the draft, Mayers said she hope her teammates get picked as well as it will be motivation for others in the country. She added that if she gets picked it will be a huge lift for her career.

“It will be a massive boost for my career but I also see it as an opportunity for younger players to keep working hard and not be afraid to put themselves out there. Hopefully, I won’t be the only Zimbabwean, there are many teammates that have registered and hopefully will be picked too,” said Mayers.

In the shortest version of the match, Mayers has played 22 matches for Zimbabwe, racking up 527 runs in the process at an average of 31.0 and a strike rate of 109. 79. She has three half-centuries and a career-high score of 68 not out which came against Namibia in Windhoek last year.

The opening batter was also part of the Lady Chevrons side that fell short of booking a place in this year’s T20 World Cup which will be played in South Africa.A total of 1 525 players registered for the inaugural Women’s Premier League player auction and the final list was trimmed to 409 players. Out of 409 players, 246 are Indians and 163 are overseas players of which eight cricketers are from associate nations. The total capped players are 202, uncapped players are 199 and eight from associate nations.

The league will be an Indian Premier League (IPL) style for female cricketers and is taking place from March 4-26, a tight window squeezed out between the Women’s T20 World Cup that ends in late February and the men’s IPL that is set to start one week after the women’s competition.

Each team can buy a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 18 players, including seven overseas ones, of which one must be from an Associate country. In addition, Australia based former Zimbabwe player, Anesu Mushangwe, who plays for the Adelaide Strikers women’s team is also listed for the auction.

The inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League is set to be played in Mumbai from March 4 to 26.

A total of 22 matches will be played with the Brabourne Stadium and D Y Patil Sports Stadium being the venues for the tournament.

“There is no harm in registering for these events and if anything, it’s a great opportunity,” she added. – @brandon_malvin