The prospect of these two sides pitted against each other in the final seemed an unlikely prospect even during the auction. Mumbai Indians appeared the obvious front runners, having retained the core that delivered two titles in three seasons.

RCB, meanwhile, were without Perry, and when they opted to replace her with an uncapped Indian fast bowler in Sayali Satghare, fully aware that Pooja Vastrakar would be unavailable for much of the season, the knives were out. Satghare has since become a key strand in RCB’s seam attack.

Thursday’s final also brings a contrast to their journeys to the final. RCB took the route DC did for three seasons running – winning six out of their eight games to top the group. DC have scraped through a sequence of must-win games and will now play their third knockout in five days.

DC are chasing that elusive fourth attempt at glory to help bring silverware to a franchise that is yet to win a major; RCB is looking at making winning titles a habit, attempting a hat-trick of wins (IPL included).

In each of the three previous finals, the winner of the Eliminator has gone on to win the title. Will Thursday be any different?

RCB are likely to back Vastrakar to play as a specialist batter. While she has begun bowling in the nets, a call has been taken to ease her in, given she has returned to competitive cricket after 15 months. Arundhati Reddy’s lack of form is the only other area of concern that could potentially bring in legspinner Prema Rawat into the equation.

RCB (probable): Smriti Mandhana (capt),  Grace Harris,  Georgia Voll,  Richa Ghosh (wk),  Radha Yadav,  Nadine de Klerk,  Pooja Vastrakar,  Shreyanka Patil,  Sayali Satghare,  Arundhati Reddy/Prema Rawat,  Lauren Bell

DC are likely to be unchanged. In fact the 13 players they’ve used this season are the fewest resources a team has used across four WPL seasons.

DC (probable):  Shafali Verma,  Lizelle Lee (wk),  Laura Wolvaardt,  Jemimah Rodrigues (capt),  Marizanne Kapp, Chinelle Henry,  Niki Prasad,  Sneh Rana,  Minnu Mani,  Nandani Sharma,  N Shree Charani

[Cricinfo]

The PCB has not spoken publicly on the matter, but the ICC issued a response a few hours after the X post, in which it said it hoped “that the PCB will consider the significant and long-term implications for cricket in its own country as this is likely to impact the global cricket ecosystem, which it is itself a member and beneficiary of.”

It is not known whether the PCB has officially notified the ICC, or whether there has been any contact between the two bodies. The ICC had said that it “expects the PCB to explore a mutually acceptable resolution, which protects the interests of all stakeholders.”

The Prime Minister’s comments confirm, however, that the boycott decision is linked to what the PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi – the interior minister in Sharif’s government – called the ICC’s double standards in excluding Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup.

Bangladesh were replaced in the world event after their government refused to let the team travel to India, where they were based for their games. The government, citing security concerns, wanted Bangladesh to play their games instead in Sri Lanka, the co-hosts for the event, and where Pakistan will play all their games.