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We’re less than 48 hours from the start of the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), and the lead-up to the tournament has been fabulous.
There was a stellar player auction in Mumbai on February 13th, with plenty of big names going under the hammer. However, it may come down to the lesser-known players, the domestic players not many know about, and how teams have identified and scouted those talents that ultimately determine who wins the trophy.
We enter the tournament after an enthralling T20 World Cup in South Africa. The hosts finished runners-up as Australia stamped their authority over the other teams, winning yet another title.
With the media rights for the WPL going for plenty of money and the electric fanfare surrounding the tournament, the first edition of this league is set to be a huge success.
For the first of the team previews, it’s time to look at the side that will have home support for pretty much every match, the Mumbai Indians.
The Auction
The Mumbai Indians desperately wanted to secure the services of the Mumbai-based Smriti Mandha, but RCB just outbid them. With that said, they’ll be mighty pleased to have secured the services of the Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur at a bargain rate of ₹1.80 Crores.
They then went after two of the best overseas all-rounders in Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amelia Kerr, shelling out a whopping ₹3.20 Crores for the former while getting the latter for a steal at ₹1 Crore.
They also spent heavily on Indian wicket-keeper Yastika Bhatia and pacer Pooja Vastrakar, and they’ll join Harmanpreet Kaur to form the Indian core of this side.
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews, South African all-rounder Chloe Tryon, Aussie all-rounder Heather Graham, and England seamer Isabelle Wong were their other captures at the auction, all at base price.
The general trend in their auction strategy shows a commitment to signing proper all-rounders. Barring Isabelle Wong, all the other five players are very capable batters as well as full-time bowling options. That gives skipper Harmanpreet Kaur a very healthy selection headache.
In the IPL, MI has always been known for its strong recruitment strategy, and it showed some of that tact on the WPL auction table. Led by Head Coach Charlotte Edwards, and Bowling Coach cum Mentor Jhulan Goswami, they’ve assembled a squad capable of winning the title, albeit with a few issues.
Mumbai Indians Squad for WPL 2023: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar, Yastika Bhatia, Hayley Matthews, Amanjot Kaur, Chloe Tryon, Heather Graham, Isabelle Wong, Priyanka Bala, Dhara Gujjar, Humairaa Kaazi, Sonam Yadav, Neelam Bisht, Saika Ishaque, Jintimani Kalita.
Strengths
The versatility of this squad is something that stands out, with plenty of bowling options available. In some sense, it reminds one of a CSK lineup filled with bowling options or the Lucknow Super Giants’ side, which also brims with quality all-rounders.
They also managed to get promising talent Amanjot Kaur at the auction, shelling out ₹50 Lakhs for her. The WPL could well end up being a battle of Indian players, with most sides’ overseas rosters well-matched. In that context, signing a talented all-rounder in Amanjot bodes well for them.
Weaknesses
The Mumbai Indians do appear a couple of match-winners or impact players short. While they did well to sign Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, and Hayley Matthews, the rest of their overseas player recruitment could’ve been better.
Despite the presence of the Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur, their Indian contingent isn’t the best in the league, with RCB and DC having a better auction strategy in that respect. They also spent ₹1.50 Crores on Yastika Bhatia. While the reasoning behind the move is understandable, it is a risk to splurge this amount on a player who has struggled in international cricket.
Sometimes, it also helps having specialist bowlers and not only all-rounders on your side, and barring Pooja Vastrakar, MI can’t claim to have any known prospects in that department. Would it have suited them better had they gone for a Megan Schutt or a Darcie Brown or spent more money to get capped Indian players like Shikha Pandey or Radha Yadav? Only time will tell.
Mumbai Indians’ Predicted Playing XI: Hayley Matthews, Yastika Bhatia (WK), Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Dhara Gujjar, Amanjot Kaur, Isabelle Wong, Pooja Vastrakar, Sonam Yadav, Saika Ishaque.
WPL 2023: Best Fantasy Cricket options
MI has plenty of attractive fantasy cricket options, mainly because of the number of top-order players who bowl plenty of overs. Amelia Kerr is the standout pick, considering she’ll bat at No.3 and likely bowl all four overs of her leg spin.
The in-form Nat Sciver-Brunt is someone who you can leave your captain’s armband on. Such is her high potential for points and consistency. Pooja Vastrakar could shine alongside Isabelle Wong in the MI pace attack. With 25 points for a wicket, she’s a top bowler pick.
Hayley Matthews and Harmanpreet Kaur round out the best fantasy picks. Both of them are capable of firing in some overs of off-spin in addition to their batting exploits.
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