Women’s Premier League 2023: Mandira Bedi Returns As Cricket Host

Indian actress Mandira Bedi performed the opening ceremony act at the Women’s Premier League’s inauguration ceremony, marking a historic moment for the league. She was India’s first female cricket presenter and the first to introduce female cricket presenters to the sport.

The DY Patil Stadium witnessed a historic night on Saturday with the inaugural Women’s Premier League game between Gujarat Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

How fitting that it’s Mandira Bedi who is starting proceedings here in the #WPL2023 opening ceremony! Her contribution, fundraising and support to the women’s game in the country is so underrated!

A nod to a star! @mandybedi #TATAWPL pic.twitter.com/jCjdyKJPkY

— Lavanya 🎙️🎥👩🏻‍💻 (@lav_narayanan) March 4, 2023

However, the presence of the sports presenter Mandira Bedi, an ambassador for women’s empowerment, as a broadcaster for the event was another highlight that caught the attention of fans. In 2004, she gave up her endorsement fee to get sponsorship for the Indian women’s cricket team. Mandira’s fans not only felt nostalgic when they saw her, but they also shared photos of her at the venue with captions to show their love for her on social media.

It was also a nod to the pre- and post-match shows that Bedi hosted for many cricket fans during the ICC 2002 Cricket World Cup. Mandira Bedi’s presentation served as the catalyst. Following this, popular Bollywood actresses Kiara Advani and Kriti Sanon delighted the crowd by dancing.

The #TATAWPL kicks off in style! 🙌

Kiara Advani’s entertaining performance gets the crowd going! 👌👌 pic.twitter.com/cKfuGOCpEC

— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 4, 2023