INTERVIEW
Follow UsThe second season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) began with an uncapped India player smashing an international star out of the park off the last ball of the match with five needed. That’s the fearlessness that the tournament hopes to create and unearth future stars. It was S Sajana on Friday (February 23) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru who, in an instant, made a name for herself, and with every passing match, there could be a few more who could put their hands up and show similar courage and skill.
WPL last season also saw some consistent performances from a few uncapped players like Saika Ishaque, Kanika Ahuja, and Shreyanka Patil, among others, whose good showings in the tournament helped them don the Indian jersey.
Who will that be for the Gujarat Giants?
“We have a couple of youngsters in the team. We have Tanuja Kanwar - she has done well consistently - and she won a lot of matches for Railways recently with bat and ball. She is a good all-rounder. I think Priya [Mishra] is a good bowler, Archana [Devi] is a good bowler. She has played in the Under-19 World Cup,” Sneh Rana said in a chat with Cricket.com.
“There are a few who are doing well. Hema [Dayalan Hemalatha] is also doing well, and she could also make a comeback to the Indian team,” she further adds.
Rana was unexpectedly handed the captaincy in the first season after Beth Mooney was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury. While she enjoyed her stint, Rana says that the team missed Mooney’s experience. Eventually, the Giants finished at the bottom of the table in the five-team event.
“I enjoyed [captaincy], but unfortunately, Beth got injured, and there was some shortage of experience in the team as a result. The role I got as captain, I enjoyed because I enjoyed keeping everyone from different countries as a unit,” Rana, who picked up six wickets in WPL 2023, said.
“Things did not go our way. This time, we are really positive. The atmosphere [in the team] is really good. Hopefully, we'll top the table this time.”
The off-spinner also revealed that she has been working on her yorkers.
“T20 is a quick format. I have worked on my yorkers. I will try to execute it. Whenever the team needs, I will look to score 15-20 quick runs. I'm ready for it,” she said.
Gujarat Giants had the highest purse going into the WPL 2024 auction, and they bought as many as 10 players, including the joint-most expensive player in the uncapped Kashvee Gautam (INR 2 crore) who has been ruled out of the tournament due to an injury.
“We are very positive about them. They have had a very good season,” Rana said.
“We saw Phoebe [Litchfield] doing well against us in our home series recently. Veda [Krishnamurthy] has also contributed quick runs in T20s, and Kashvee is one of the best emerging youngsters. We are happy with our team combination. Hopefully, we'll put up a good show.”
Mithali Raj has been involved with the franchise as a mentor since the last season and Rana believes that the players have benefitted by her presence.
“Having her around...she is a legend. Our morale is boosted by her sheer presence, and it motivates us,” Rana, who looked up to Mithali, Jhulan Goswami and Sachin Tendulkar growing up, said.
“She is helping the youngsters and the senior players also as she is an experienced player. She is helping our batting, and in fact, she is helping out our bowlers as well, advising them on the lines and lengths they can bowl.”
Finishing bottom in the first season could be a very minor blip for Gujarat. After all, in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) – in 2008 – Deccan Chargers (DC) finished at the bottom of the table and went on to win the following season. Will the Gujarat Giants follow suit?
