WPL 2023 TEAM GUIDE: Rachael Haynes is coach, Beth Mooney is captain, and Ash Gardner is the marquee signing. Throw Georgia Wareham and Annabel Sutherland into the mix and the Giants have an Australian core. NICK FRIEND assesses their chances
Captain: Beth Mooney
Coach: Rachael Haynes
Headliners
Beth Mooney: The Australia opener played a match-winning hand in the T20 World Cup final for a second edition in a row last month and is a world-class left-hander at the top of the order. She knows Haynes well from their time together as international teammates and is a natural choice as skipper.
Ash Gardner: The big-hitting allrounder was the player of the tournament at the T20 World Cup and was a £320,000 signing for Giants – a nod to her multi-faceted match-winning ability. Few hit a cleaner ball, while her off-spin is in good nick – she picked up figures of 5 for 12 against New Zealand in February. Everyone wanted her at auction – only Gujarat got her.
Sneh Rana: The India off-spinner is a quality all-round cricketer and represents shrewd business; she is a much-improved cricketer from the youngster who made her international debut in 2014 and featured as an injury replacement in India's semi-final defeat by Australia.
Indian allrounder Harleen Deol [Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images]
One to watch
Harleen Deol represented a good piece of business at just £30,000; the 24-year-old was part of India's T20 World Cup squad and played in their first game of the tournament against Pakistan. She is best known outside of India for a fabulous boundary catch against England in 2021 at Northampton that went viral.
Why they'll win the WPL
If Gujarat win the WPL in 2023, it will be because their armada of Australians has come to the party.
There are worse things to bet on in the women's game than that. Gardner has the potential to turn games on her own and has been empowered in recent times by Australia to do so with both bat and ball, while Georgia Wareham – back from long-term injury trouble – is one of the game's best leg-spinners.
Mooney is as consistent a run-scorer as they come, while Annabel Sutherland was sought after at auction because of her powerful striking and genuine pace.
Whether she starts, with Deandra Dottin also available as an all-round option, remains to be seen. Arguably, with Dottin and Sophia Dunkley likely to sit out at the beginning, no team has greater overseas bench strength.
Indian spinner Sneh Rana [Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty Images]
Why they won't win the WPL
So much focus from Haynes went on securing Mooney and Gardner – they cost £520,000 between them – as her bankers that they only ended up with one member of India's original T20 World Cup squad, in Deol.
Rana was belatedly added as an injury replacement, while Sabbhineni Meghana and Sushma Verma were also part of the pre-competition tri-series involving West Indies and South Africa.
It means, though, that it is a lower-key set of domestic players, perhaps without the local match-winners of the other franchises.
They are also relying on a spin-heavy attack, with Gardner, Wareham, Rana and Tanuja Kanwar all likely starters. On the better pitches and smaller boundaries, that is risky business.
Squad: Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Sophie Dunkley, Anna Sutherland, Harleen Deol, Deandra Dottin, Sneh Rana, S Meghana, Georgia Wareham, Mansi Joshi, D Hemalatha, Monica Patel, Tanuja Kanwer, Sushma Verma, Hurley Gala, Ashwani Kumari, Parunika Sisodia, Shabnam Shakil
Likely line-up: Mooney, Meghana, Gardner, Deol, Hemalatha, Verma, Sutherland, Wareham, Rana, Kanwar, Joshi
Fixtures: March 4 – Mumbai Indians, March 5 – UP Warriorz, March 8 – Royal Challengers Bangalore, March 11 – Delhi Capitals, March 14 – Mumbai Indians, March 16 – Delhi Capitals, March 18 – Royal Challengers Bangalore, March 20 – UP Warriorz
Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine. Breaking news, interviews, opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport, from village green to national arena.