The Women’s Premier League is just a day away. The tournament will redefine the state of women’s cricket in India, and prepare us for a better sporting future. As the excitement unfolds, let’s have a look at how each team could fare at the inaugural edition of the tournament.
Mumbai Indians:
Mumbai Indians looked pretty lethargic at the auction. Despite that, they were able to accumulate a batting-heavy team. Their middle order is packed with hard-hitting batters who can sway any bowling lineup. However, the franchise lacks an overall balance as a team.
Mumbai’s bowling attack is fairly inexperienced and could falter under the slightest bit of pressure. Their batter will have to give their 110% and constantly put up big scores for the bowlers to be able to defend. One bad day for the batsmen could leave the entire bowling lineup exposed.
The WPL is a quick-paced tournament, and the knockouts would arrive before the players would have a chance to settle it. Compared to the other 4 teams, Mumbai lack a certain balance in their squad. Thus, with such an imbalanced squad, there’s a huge huge chance Mumbai may falter, losing their spot in the knockouts. It seems that Mumbai may be one of the bottom two in the tournament. However, their captain Harmanpreet Kaur has a history of getting the best out of fresh talent. If she is able to push everyone to perform their best, she can cement a spot for her team at the knockouts.
Gujarat Giants:
Gujarat Giants have managed to rope in some of the best foreign players. The team’s core is comprised of players like Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Sophia Dunkley, Sneh Rana, and Harleen Deol. In the process of adding international superstars, the team management forgot to add some formidable Indians to the squad. Most of the Indian players in the team are either inactive members of the Indian team looking to rejuvenate their careers or are domestic players looking forward to making an impact and dazzling the selectors.
What adds more to the team’s woes is the absence of a full-time captain in the team. The senior core of the team has little to zero captaincy experience. The team management decided to make Australian veteran Beth Mooney the captain, but even she has not captained a squad in long. Whether or not she possesses leadership skills, is a mystery that may be resolved this season. But, that is a risk that Gujarat Giants will have to take. Having said that, the absence of leadership skills and quality pace bowling in the team are two major flaws that could cost the team their knockout chances. Overall, given the current balance of the team, it has the full potential to finish in the top 3.
UP Warriorz:
UP Warriorz’s strength lies in the number of all-rounders the franchise has, all of which are equally capable with the bat and ball. The team has one of the best bowling lineups in the tournament, with a perfect blend of pace and spin. Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, and Sophie Ecclestone in the spin department can use the Mumbai pitches to their advantage.
However, in batting, the team is heavily reliant on its captain Alyssa Healy. The T20 format requires hard-hitting batters. The team lacks them throughout their batting order. Thus, the pressure would be on the bowlers to defend whatever totals their batters amass.
There is an underlying inexperience in the middle order of the team. Thus, UP Warriorz may not be able to post big totals consistently. Furthermore, if Alyssa Healy gets injured at any point in the tournament, the team may just crumble. Hence, the tournament is going to be a tough one for UP Warriorz, and they may find it extremely hard to make it to the knockouts.
Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Royal Challengers Bangalore have the second most balanced squad in the tournament, next to the Delhi Capitals. The team’s core comprises Indian explosive batter Smriti Mandhana, Kiwi skipper Sophie Devine, England captain Heather Knight, Richa Ghosh, and Ellyse Perry. These are some of the biggest stars in the game.
Even the uncapped lot of RCB has a fair amount of experience at the domestic level. RCB’s bowling attack would be led by Megan Schutt, who is one of the highest wicket-takers at the international level.
Thus, RCB are bound to finish in the top 3. The only faltering point in the team is the inexperienced spin lot. However, if the spinners are able to push and give their absolute best, RCB will flood the gates of the knockouts. The team has all that it takes to be the champion in the inaugural season of the WPL.
Delhi Capitals:
Delhi Capitals came into the auction with a very clear plan and bought every one they wanted. They did not lose a single bidding war, and were hence, able to formulate the most balanced squad in the game.
Delhi’s biggest strength is their 5 times World Cup-winning captain Meg Lanning. Lanning is the most successful captain in the history of the game. The best captain, has some of the best players to add yet another trophy to her name. The team has a balanced amount of Indian and international stars making the core of the team. Jemimah Rodriguez, Shefali Verma, Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, and Alice Capsey are some of the big names that the capitals added to their roster.
The team will enter the arena as everyone’s favourite to win the cup. With the presence of so many big guns, the team will definitely make it into the top 3 of the tournament. However, the only thing that stands between them and the trophy is the lack of an explosive batsman in the middle order. However, since the top order of the team is fairly consistent, they may not have to worry about the same.
Note: These predictions are made by the writer based on their opinion. The actual results may vary.
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