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New Delhi, Nov 1 (IANS): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday announced Jio as the title sponsor of the 2020 edition of the Women's T20 Challenge to be played in Sharjah from November 4. The partnership will also have the support of Reliance Foundation Education and Sports For All (RF ESA).
This is a historic partnership, as for the first time a sponsor has signed with BCCI exclusively for the women's matches, said the board in a media release.
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said: "As BCCI grows the game of cricket across all formats, one key area of focus has been to grow the women's game. We hope the Jio Women's T20 Challenge will inspire more young girls to take up the sport and give parents the confidence that playing cricket is a great career opportunity for their daughters."
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said: "We look forward to seeing the great women's sports stories that will be shared as a result of this initiative. We want to support and create concrete ways to grow the pipeline of women talent in cricket."
"Our goal with the Women's T20 Challenge is to build a pathway to a dedicated Women's' IPL. Signing an exclusive title sponsor for the Women's T20 Challenge, is a great testament to the property, allowing it to be self-sustainable," he added.
Nita Ambani, chairperson and founder of the Reliance Foundation, said: "My heartiest congratulations to BCCI for organising the Women's T20 Challenge. This is a progressive step towards the growth of women's cricket in India. I am delighted to offer my full support for this wonderful initiative."
"I have immense faith in the potential and capabilities of all our sportswomen. Indian women cricketers have made the country proud with their outstanding achievements in ICC events over the last couple of years. Our aim is to ensure that we offer the best of infrastructure, training and rehab facilities to our girls. Players like Anjum, Mithali, Smriti, Harmanpreet and Poonam are great role models. I wish them and every member of the Indian women's squad even greater success and glory in their journey ahead," she added.
An extension of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Women's T20 Challenge will be played between three franchises - Supernovas, Trailblazers and Velocity led by Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj respectively.