Baroda and Lucknow have been shortlisted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to host the third edition of the Women’s Premier League according to a Cricbuzz report. (More Cricket News)gamebet

The tournament will be a 23-game season, and will be split into two phases, and is expected to get underway on February 6 till the first week of March. 

The first phase will be held in Lucknow, with Baroda in contention to host the second phase as well as the grand final.

The BCCI is yet to officially confirm the dates as well as the venues to the franchises, but the board has started discussions with the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) and the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA).

The BCA recently inaugurated the Kotambi Stadium, which played host for the three Women’s one-day internationals against the West Indies. 

The Vijay Hazare Trophy knockout stages, that have been allotted to Baroda, is expected to be played at the Kotambi Stadium to check if the international standard facility is match fit.

The final is likely to be held on March 8/9, with official confirmation expected in a couple of days.

The first edition was completely hosted in Mumbai, while the M Chinnaswamy Stadium and Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi staged the second season. 

The first match of the final round of group matches took place between Korea and Malaysia and resulted in a 3-3 draw. The splitting of points confirmed Korea's qualification to the semifinal. The draw also ensured that Pakistan would finish second in the group regardless of their result in their last group match against India.

The India-Pakistan hockey rivalry has lost its sheen in recent times. Hockey in Pakistan has been in a freefall for the last decade or so while Indians have made a tremendous comeback in the same time period. The two countries used to rule world hockey at one point and the seeds for it were sown during the British rule in India.gamebet