Novelty of ICC tournaments is wearing off, feels Uthappa

 

 

STILL basking in the glory of their maiden ODI World Cup triumph, India’s effer vescent women cricketers will return to competitive action in the fourth Women’s Premier League starting here on Friday, kicking off their build-up to this year’sT20 World Cup. Two-time winners and defending champions Mumbai Indians, led by Harmanpreet Kaur,will face the only other title winning side in theWPL, Smriti Mandhana’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru, in the tournament opener here at the ‘home of Indian women’s cricket’,the DY Patil Stadium.

 

The fourth WPL will be held in two stages, in Navi Mumbai and Vadodara, presenting players from around the world to go against the best and augment their preparations for the T20 World Cup, slated for June-July in England. MI have the best squad on paper at their disposalled by Harmanpreet with captains of England (Nat Sciver-Brunt) and West Indies (Hayley Matthews) in tow.

 

Having retained the majority of their squad, MI will be the team to beat given their formidable batting, bolstered by New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr, promising Australian Milly Illing worth,and India’s depend able Amanjot Kaur. With G Kamalini at the top, MI could also find themselves facing selection headache with the available talent. Shabnim Ismail will lead the bowling attack which also includes Saika Ishaque,who will face the challenge of getting her act together after a tough couple of seasons following an impressive debut in 2023.

 

With Meg Lanning moving to UP Warriorz, mercurial Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues has taken charge of the Delhi Capitals’outfit which carries the burden of tripping at the finish line all three times in the finals. The Capitals have a dangerous squad and one that can go the distance if things fall in place. Among Indians, Delhi have the World Cup winners and inform opener Shafali Verma, Sneh Rana and Shree Charani, while domestic talent base includes Niki Prasad,India player Minnu Mani and right-arm Nandani Sharma, who is the only Indian pacer in the camp.

 

Delhi’s overseas roster is impressive too,with the the ODI World Cup’s best batter and South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt looking to continue with her form. Marizanne Kapp and Alana King will handle the bowling work load but Annabel Sutherland’s withdrawal has reduced the firepower to some extent. A lot will hinge on how Mandhana,in the absence of the legendary Ellyse Perry, pulls the RCB side while garnering runs at the top.

 

Mandhana’s form is never really a concern and she will feel confident given the talent base which the 2024 winners have. Australia batter Georgia Voll, all-rounder Grace Harris and South Africa’s doughty all rounder Nadine de Klerk will share the batting responsibilities. Behind the wickets and for the finishing job, RCB have the explosive Richa Ghoshinranks.

 

India’s Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, and England’s Lauren Bell are among the premier seamers for RCB who also have quality spin bowlers in England’s Linsey Smith, India’s Radha Yadav and Shreyanka Patil. After a couple of ordinary seasons, Gujarat Giants made it to the play-offs last year and they will look to going one better this year.

 

But for the Ashleigh Gardnerled side, the overseas stars will have to do the heavy-lifting given that they do not have any front-line Indian batter in their ranks. Renuka Singh Thakur is biggest Indian star in the camp along with Titas Sadhu and Rajeshwari Gayakwad, with stumper-batter Yastika Bhatia looking for a strong comeback after an injury lay-off.