The inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL 2023) is here. The much-awaited and long overdue marquee women’s T20 tournament conducted by the BCCI is set to take stage on Saturday, March 4th.
The 5-team competition will be played in a round-robin format comprising 20 leagues games in all, followed by an Eliminator – between 2nd and 3rd placed teams – the winner of which will meet the table-topper in the final of the WPL 2023.
The WPL 2023 will be played in two stadiums in Mumbai – Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium. Both these venues are known for the nature of their high-scoring pitches, and the boundary ropes are also pulled in significantly to produce more fours and sixes. Fans can expect a high-scoring WPL 2023 tournament.
In T20 cricket, the role of an all-rounder is very crucial, that is a known. In women’s cricket, there are a slew of high-quality all-rounders, most of whom will be in action in the WPL 2023.
Here is the best all-rounder we picked from each of the 5 WPL teams:
Nat Sciver-Brunt (Mumbai Indians)
If MI are to win the WPL 2023 trophy, England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt is going to play a massive role. Ranked 2nd in ICC Women’s T20I all-rounder’s ranking and 4th among batters, Nat Sciver-Brunt was in sensational form during the recent T20 WC in South Africa.
She was the second-leading scorer in the tournament with 216 runs in 5 innings at an average of 72 and strike rate of 141 – which is terrific in women’s cricket – and gives 2 overs regularly. Being a pacer, Nat might be asked to bowl more than 2 overs for MI on the pitches in Mumbai.
The 30-year-old brings is aggressive, fearless batting and immense experience of 108 T20I and 94 ODIs.
The vice-captain of the UP Warriorz franchise, Deepti Sharma is already an indispensable player in the Indian team, and will be tasked with great responsibility now for his WPL franchise.
Still only 25 years of age, Deepti has featured in 92 T20Is and 80 ODIs for India and is one of the first names on the team sheet: she is a stability-provider middle-order batter and bowls her full-quota of overs; Deepti has proven to be effective in bowling in all phases of the match, including in the death and powerplay. The off-spinner has snapped 102 T20I wickets at an economy rate of 6.17 along with averaging 25 with the bat.
Ashleigh Gardner (Gujarat Giants)
A canny off-spinner and a hard-hitting batter, Ashleigh Gardner recently played the pivotal role in Australia’s T20 WC winning campaign: Gardner picked 10 wickets at an economy of 6.25, which is laudable as she also bowled in the death regularly, an smashed 110 runs at an average of 36. Deservedly, Ashleigh Gardner was named the Player of the Tournament in the T20 WC.
The 25-year-old has featured in 73 T20Is and 52 ODIs for Australia, and is going to have to be the backbone of the Gujarat Giants.
Ellyse Perry (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
RCB roped in women’s cricket’s biggest royalty, a walking legend – four-time T20 World Cup winner Ellyse Perry. There has perhaps never been a greater match-winner in women’s cricket than the 32-year-old Ellyse Perry, who has featured in 131 ODIs and 139 T20Is and comes galore with 283 wickets, close to 5000 international runs and numerous trophies and accolades.
Her numerous trophies bring in is her great temperament and big-match experience, something she would share with her RCB teammates.
Marizanne Kapp (Delhi Capitals)
Ranked 4th in T20I all-rounders, South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp was phenomenal during the home T20 World Cup, where she helped South Africa reach the final: a seam-bowler and a middle-order batter, Kapp picked up 9 wickets while maintaining an economy of 6.28 and played a couple of handy knocks.
The 33-year-old right-handed all-rounder who will be turning up for the Delhi Capitals in the WPL 2023, has a huge experience of 129 ODIs and 94 T20Is.
