Mithali Raj to act as advisor for Gujarat WPL franchise

The legendary former India captain will take on a mentoring role with the franchise in the Women's Premier League

India great Mithali Raj will act as a mentor for the Gujarat franchise in the inaugural Women's Premier League.

A former captain of her country, Raj retired from international cricket as the leading run-scorer in women's ODIs and finished 11 short of 100 appearances in T20Is.

She has been calling for a competition like the WPL for some time; she spoke in the aftermath of India's World Cup final defeat in 2017 to put forward the case for a tournament to rival the Women's Big Bash.

Six years on, it has come too late for her own career, but she will instead take on an advisory role at the Gujarat franchise.

"Women's cricket is growing steadily, and this kind of impetus will undoubtedly encourage young women to consider taking up cricket professionally," she said.

"I believe that the high-impact participation of corporates will help hasten the process of eventually bringing more glory to India. This level of influence can help strengthen the sporting ecosystem and enhance opportunities for women athletes."

^{Mithali Raj retired from international cricket in June 2022 (Sujit Jaiswal/AFP via Getty Images)}

Pranav Adani, director of Adani Enterprises, the parent company of the franchise's owners, described Raj as "a role model for the young generation".

"We are delighted to have such an inspirational athlete on board to mentor our women's cricket team. We believe that the presence of international sporting heroes like Mithali will attract new talent not just into cricket but also into every other sport."

Jhulan Goswami, Raj's long-time international teammate, has been appointed as bowling coach at Delhi Capitals.

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