Mumbai (PTI): Recently retired India legend Jhulan Goswami has been entrusted with the dual role of team mentor and bowling coach by Mumbai Indians for the upcoming Women's Premier League (WPL) season.

Former England women's team captain and the second-highest run-getter in women's ODIs and Tests Charlotte Edwards has been appointed head coach of the franchise for the inaugural edition scheduled in March.

Former India all-rounder Devieka Palshikaar will be the batting coach, while Trupti Chandgadkar Bhattacharya will be the team manager.

Jhulan, a Padma Shri who retired last year after the series against England, has more than 350 international wickets in a career spanning more than two decades.

She is the highest wicket-taker in WODIs and also has the distinction of taking maximum wickets in history of Women's ODI World Cup. Jhulan rose to No. 1 in the ICC Women's ODI bowling rankings in January 2016 and post-retirement she is mentoring the Bengal women's team.

Edwards too had a cricketing career spanning two decades and she led the England side to an ODI and T20I World Cup title triumph. Post-retirement, the 43-year-old has been coaching teams in England and Australia and is an ICC 'Hall of Famer'.

Devieka, a former right-handed batter and leg-spinner, was the assistant coach of India between 2014 and 2016. She was also associated with the Bangladesh team as assistant coach, winning the 2018 Asian Cup with them.

Mumbai Indians, the most successful IPL side, recently bought the Mumbai franchise in the WPL for Rs 912.99 crore.

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Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.

This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.

The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.

Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.

"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.

BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.

Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.

Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."

Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.