Red Bull Campus Cricket to have female edition for the first time in 2021

Red Bull Campus Cricket will have a women’s edition for the first time, starting with a championship in India next year. The world’s biggest university-level tournament will be held in four zones – north, south, east and west – with the zonal winners to proceed in the national finals. The winner will be declared as the best college cricket team in the country.



The competition will also provide young players with a chance to represent their country in the world finals. Supporting the initiative, India opener Smriti Mandhana said, “I’m very happy that Red Bull Campus Cricket will be conducting a women’s edition next year. It will be a great platform for Indian women who want to play cricket professionally.”



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“Many players have gotten selected for their state teams and played for national teams after playing Red Bull Campus Cricket. Players like KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Manan Vohra, Anukul Roy and others have all played Red Bull Campus Cricket. To have a women’s edition will be a great boost for women’s cricket in India,” added the southpaw.



Besides the Women’s T20 Challenge which was held in the UAE, domestic cricket returned in the country in some states post the COVID-19 pandemic. While Karnataka players played in the Sheela Sridhar Rangaswamy Memorial Tournament, Sikkim Cricket Association organised its first female tournament last month.



The event is an annual international T20 tournament for college cricket teams, providing young players a platform to showcase their skills at the national stage and subsequently at the world level and make their way into professional cricket without having to give up on college education. The competition was launched in 2012 and is now in its ninth year.