WPL | Onus on overseas stars to shine for Giants

4 months ago 3

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Horses for courses: Gardner volition look to marque the champion usage of the disposable resources. | Photo Credit: File Photo: Emmanual Yogini

Gujarat Giants’ travel successful the Women’s Premier League has been riddled with disappointment since the precise start.

Having finished with the woody spoon successful 2023 and 2024, the franchise fared a tad amended past twelvemonth by finishing 3rd successful the league signifier to suffice for the Eliminator. But connected the large day, the Giants were good abbreviated of the standards needed to flooded Harmanpreet Kaur’s Mumbai Indians.

Punch supra its weight

For 2026 to bring astir a alteration of fortune, GG’s 18-member playing contingent volition person to punch considerably supra its weight.

The Giants absorption went into the mega auction past November with a purse of ₹9 crore, 2nd lone to UP Warriorz’s ₹14.5 crore among the 5 teams, but the frailties that crippled the squad successful erstwhile editions look to remain.

Having retained Ashleigh Gardner and Beth Mooney, GG’s biggest concern astatine the auction array was the acquisition of 36-year-old all-rounder Sophie Devine for ₹2 crore.

While the erstwhile New Zealand captain, who retired from ODIs aft the World Cup successful November but intends to proceed playing T20Is, adds important mightiness and acquisition to the Giants set-up, the lack of pedigreed Indian batters means that Devine, Gardner and Mooney volition person to bash the heavy-lifting successful the apical six. It whitethorn instrumentality wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia, who was ruled retired of the ODI World Cup owed to a genu injury, immoderate clip to find her groove.

In the gait department, too, the Giants look to beryllium airy connected experienced Indian players.

Renuka Singh is the exception, and the 30-year-old from Himachal volition person to lend a helping manus to youngsters Kashvee Gautam and Titas Sadhu.

In 22-year-old Kashvee’s case, it remains to beryllium seen whether she is capable to unrecorded up to the expectations aft a promising debut run (11 wickets successful 9 matches).

The onus of managing GG’s resources rests with Gardner. The 28-year-old Australian took implicit the reins from Mooney past year, and led the squad to a maiden playoff appearance.

The added work seemed to bring the champion retired of the all-rounder – she scored 243 runs successful 9 matches, including 3 half-centuries, astatine a blistering onslaught complaint of 164.18 and claimed 8 wickets with off-spin.

If the surfaces are conducive to rotation successful Navi Mumbai and Vadodara, Australian leg-spinner Georgia Wareham, who has been roped successful for ₹1 crore, volition besides person to occurrence connected each cylinders.

Otherwise, different disappointing play could unfold for the Giants.

The squad: Ashleigh Gardner (Capt.), Beth Mooney (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Bharti Fulmali, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Kanika Ahuja, Sophie Devine, Kim Garth, Kashvee Gautam, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Tanuja Kanwar, Renuka Singh, Titas Sadhu, Georgia Wareham, Happy Kumari, Anushka Sharma, Ayushi Soni, and Shivani Singh.