Shooting with a straight bat

The second season of the Womenrsquos Premier League WPL ends today at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi We caught up with Jinisha Sharma whose team UP Warriorz fought valiantly before being knocked out before playoffs to talk about the WPL resonance beyond the game pushing for more women in sport and zero tolerance towards trollsEdited excerpts from the interviewIt is a wrap for the second season of the Womenrsquos Premier League WPL It is now off season so what will the schedule now for the UP WarriorzWersquore committed to supporting our players during season as well as offseason So there will be camps training sessions and yearround guidance for the players It is not just about getting into top shape when the next season approaches Our coaches remain in close contact with the players all throughoutJinisha SharmaAny perspective on the spectatorship in Bengaluru There was some trepidation earlier that stands will not be filled for womenrsquos matcheshellipI want to give a huge shoutout to the incredible fans in Bengaluru Their support this WPL has been phenomenal Presence is one thing the enthusiasm energy and passion has elevated the seasonThere were parallel initiatives as important as games through the season like the ldquoShe Believe We Believerdquo initiative with Delhi CapitalsWe were so thrilled that Delhi Capitals embraced our collaboration wholeheartedly The captains of the opposing teams Meg Lanning Delhi Capitals and Alyssa Healy UP Warriorz held a banner with the message SHEBELIEVEWEBELIEVE at the time of the toss Healy reiterated that she believed in every womanrsquos right to chase her dreams Both skippers took a lap of the ground at the end of the game thanking fans for coming in on a momentous day Attending games is the most powerful way to champion womenrsquos sportsYou dream of making sport more accessible to women and have been very vocal about itWe have already collaborated with Sisters in Sweat and we have a mutual mission to enhance the participation of women in cricket We partnered with Ashirwad ITC to expand grassroots sports opportunities for girls particularly in UP This initiative aims to reach over 4000 players across 30 districts of UP providing them with a platform to showcase their skill through an interzonal tournament and further coaching opportunities from UP Warriorz coaches allowing them to qualify for the teamYou had a campaign tackling online trolling and abuse especially targeted at women athletesWe recently partnered with Navya Naveli Nanda and her Project Naveli to take this on Comments targeting playersrsquo appearances are deeply disturbing As someone deeply involved in our brand and content strategy I couldnrsquot ignore this trolling Besides it was not limited to our franchise Our campaign addresses the issue headon empowering players and sending a clear message that we wonrsquot tolerate such behaviourWhat direction do you see Capri Sports going in the near futureOur current focus is on consolidating our four franchises Bengal Warriors in Pro Kabaddi Rajasthan Warriors in Ultimate KhoKho Sharjah Warriors in the International League T20 and UP Warriorz in the WPL Player development remains top priority We want to nurture talent and contribute to the growth of the sports wersquore associated with We have had such a demanding season and our team deserves some wellearned downtime Recharge and reflect before diving into the next phase of sporting endeavoursAnd finally which sport does Jinisha Sharma likeIrsquove grown up in Mumbai and currently live in Prabhadevi Cricket holds a special place in the cityrsquos heart but I do like to play badminton whenever time permits I also dabbled in other sports such as throwball and basketball during my school days