The stage is set for the women now to carry the legacy of the biggest T20 tournament in the world as the inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League kicks off on Saturday.
With the Indian Premier League a worldwide hit amongst its fans, the craze of the Women’s Premier League is also at a different level right now. From the day of the announcement till date, there has been a tremendous increase in the fan following of the league.
Almost all the stars of women’s cricket are set to play in India in front of a packed crowd. So, just before the tournament, here’s a quick look at the probable XI of every franchise:
Gujarat Giants
Gujarat Giants won the IPL title last year in their inaugural season which was a terrific achievement by them. The squad led by Hardik Pandya had every base covered and the franchise did not disappoint at all.
A similar kind of performance would be expected from the women’s team as they had a great auction as well. The franchise focussed more on international players, unlike other teams.
Also with Mithali Raj roped in as a mentor and advisor, the team looked more solid now. Here’s the probable XI of the Giants:
Probable XI: Beth Mooney ©, Sabbineni Meghana, Sophia Dunkley, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner, Sneh Rana, Mansi Joshi, Dayalan Hemalatha, Annabel Sutherland, Hurley Gala, Monica Patel
Mumbai Indians
The most successful IPL franchise to date, Mumbai Indians looked clear during the auctions. Like typical Mumbai Indians style, they went for big names including Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur and England’s Natalie Sciver.
They started off really well in the auctions but at the end were facing difficulties to complete their squad. They did that finally by adding some big names to the Paltan family.
Mumbai Indians will use the guidance of veteran Jhulan Goswami
With Jhulan Goswami being the mentor and the bowling coach of the side, the Indians look well-settled now. Here’s the probable XI of Mumbai Indians:
Probable XI: Yastika Bhatia, Hayley Matthews, Harmanpreet Kaur ©, Amelia Kerr, Natalie Sciver, Chloe Tryon, Jintimani Kalita, Pooja Vastrakar, Amanjot Kaur, Sonam Yadav, Saika Ishaque
Royal Challengers Bangalore
If there’s any team which has a good balance of Indian as well as overseas players, then it has to be Royal Challengers Bangalore. A perfect mix of players would allow them to make great combinations during the tournament.
With Smriti Mandhana being their best buy in the auctions, they have Richa Ghosh and Renuka Singh Thakur as well to complete a solid Indian core.
With Heather Knight, Sophie Devine, and Ellyse Perry, the team is pretty much balanced. They have a strong group on paper and would like to remove the word ‘choker’ from their list which the franchise got with the men’s RCB squad. Here’s the probable XI of the squad:
Probable XI: Smriti Mandhana ©, Sophie Devine, Heather Knight, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Meghan Schutt, Kanika Ahuja, Shreyanka Patil, Renuka Thakur, Preeti Bose, Asha Shobana
UP Warriorz
This will be the first time that the UP Warriorz team will be seen in the Indian franchise cricket. They had a fair auction but ended up picking just 16 players with Indian star Deepti Sharma being one of their best purchases.
Apart from the Indian all-rounder, they have some big names from overseas such as Alyssa Healy, Tahila McGrath and Shabnim Ismail. Here is the best possible XI for the UP Warriorz:
Probable XI: Alyssa Healy, Shweta Sehrawat, Tahila McGrath, Kiran Navgire, Devika Vaidya, Deepti Sharma ©, Shabnim Ismail, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Anjali Sarvani, Sophie Ecclestone, S Yashasri
Delhi Capitals
The Capitals are known to spend more on the youth and they did the same in the auction. They bought the services of Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues, and also got some terrific foreign players in the form of Meg Lanning and Marizzane Kapp.
The franchise has a perfect bunch of Indian and overseas names which will help them grab their first-ever franchise trophy. Here is the best possible XI of the Delhi Capitals:Probable XI: Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Meg Lanning ©, Marizanne Kapp, Laura Harris, Taniyaa Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Jess Jonassen, Tara Norris/Titas Sadhu
