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The Gujarat Giants will take on the Mumbai Indians in the first-ever Women’s Premier League match at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Saturday, March 4.
Bought by the Adani Group for a whopping ₹1289 Crores, the Giants were one of the first teams to make a move after the teams’ ownership was announced. They swiftly roped in Aussie great Rachael Haynes to be the Head Coach of the side, with Indian legend Mithali Raj joining as the Team Mentor and Advisor.
The Giants will be led by Australian opener Beth Mooney. Her international teammate and the No.1 ranked T20I all-rounder and the MVP in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, Ashleigh Gardner, will also play for the Giants. She was the Giants’ marquee purchase at the player auction, but the rest of the team’s recruitment did receive some criticism from experts.
Let’s delve deeper and see what they have in store ahead of WPL 2023.
The Auction
The Gujarat Giants probably had one of the weaker auctions among the five teams. On paper, at least, this side has plenty of problem areas, and we can chalk that down to their confusing auction strategy.
They went hard for some big overseas names, and to their credit, they managed to snare a huge one for ₹3.20 Crores: Ashleigh Gardner. In terms of impact players, you don’t get better than her. She has every chance of finishing this tournament as the Most Valuable Player and can single-handedly win you games.
They also signed the ever-reliable and classy opener Beth Mooney, whose numbers for Australia are mind-boggling. She has plenty of experience and looks like a sound choice to captain of the side. Powerful all-rounder Deandra Dottin was a steal at ₹40 Lakhs, with Annabel Sutherland, Sophia Dunkley, and Georgia Wareham all smart additions.
A Sub-par Indian Contingent
However, one look at the rest of the side, and the issues start to creep up. They don’t have one member of India’s first-choice T20I playing XI in their squad, and to have that in a five-team auction is an absolute no-no.
Harleen Deol and vice-captain Sneh Rana are the only Gujarat players who regularly feature in T20Is for India. Granted, they did secure many capped domestic cricketers in Sabbineni Meghana, Dayalan Hemalatha, and Sushma Verma, but none of these players were even in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup. However, the Giants did pick up some talented youngsters, including seamers Hurley Gala and U-19 world cup winner Shabnam Shakil.
Now, Mithali Raj knows the ins and outs of the domestic circuit and has a plan and vision for the team. However, it’s only reasonable to suggest that, on paper, this squad has a big problem because you have to field seven Indian players, and the options they possess do not compare to the stars in the other teams.
Gujarat Giants’ squad for WPL 2023: Beth Mooney (C), Sneh Rana (VC), Ashleigh Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Deandra Dottin, Sophia Dunkley, Harleen Deol, Hurley Gala, Sabbineni Meghna, Sushma Verma, Dayalan Hemalatha, Shabnam Shakil, Ashwani Kumari, Tanuja Kanwer, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel, Parunika Sisodia.
Gujarat Giants: Strengths
This aspect of team building often goes unnoticed, but having the right coaching staff and team setup goes a long way in winning trophies, and the Giants have assembled an excellent set of backroom staff.
In Rachael Haynes, they have a vastly experienced Head Coach who’s so connected with the game and has won many titles with different teams. And who better to manage and get the best out of the many domestic talents than former India captain Mithali Raj, someone every player in the squad will look up to.
They also did the right thing by selecting four of their six overseas players from Australia, easily the best team in women’s cricket. Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardners are the epitome of consistency and performance and have it in them to carry the team.
However, it remains to be seen how the rest of the team fares and comes together as a group.
Gujarat Giants: Weaknesses
As highlighted earlier, the Giants have the weakest Indian contingent on paper. It feels like they didn’t understand the mechanics of this auction. Teams should field seven Indian players and only four overseas stars in a match. However, there was an abundance of overseas players and a scarcity of quality or even capped Indian players at the auction.
While going for Ashleigh Gardner is an understandable decision, not pursuing even a single regular from India’s T20I side could come back to haunt them.
Another prominent weakness that some experts highlighted was their batting order. They have stacked their side with batters who like to open or bat in the top three, with Deandra Dottin, Sophia Dunkley, Harleen Deol, and Sabbineni Meghana all preferring to bat up the order. They could be forced to play out of their natural positions and lessen their impact on the game.
While someone like Ashleigh Gardner is flexible with her batting position, you’d ideally want her batting at No.3 and facing maximum balls so she can devastate the opposition and not move down the order to accommodate an Indian batter.
It’ll be interesting to see the playing XI they field for the first match and how their team combination evolves as the tournament grows older.
Gujarat Giants’ Predicted Playing XI: Beth Mooney(C/WK), Sabbineni Meghana, Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner, Dayalan Hemalatha, Deandra Dottin, Annabel Sutherland, Sneh Rana, Hurley Gala, Mansi Joshi, Tanuja Kanwar.
WPL 2023: Best Fantasy Cricket Options
Ashleigh Gardner is one of the best fantasy options in the entire league, let alone this team. Picking her is a no-brainer, especially if she bats at No.3 or 4. If you want a reliable batter to keep the runs flowing throughout the tournament, look no further than captain Beth Mooney. She came good in clutch moments in the knockout stages of the World Cup and is in terrific form coming into WPL 2023.
The powerful Deandra Dottin could be another impactful Fantasy asset, but her batting position will ultimately determine how many points she gets. Apart from these three big names, Sneh Rana and Annabel Sutherland‘s versatility makes them important players for the team, and they could be wise differential selections.
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