RCB have picked quality internationals like Ellys Perry, Heather Knight and Sophie Devine and have an excellent captain in Mandhana, who earned a league-high Rs. 3.40 crore selling player.
Aggressive batsman Shefali Verma will face RCB captain Smriti Mandhana’s restrained batting when Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) take on Delhi Capitals in a Mumbai Women’s Premier League (WPL) match on Sunday. RCB have picked quality internationals like Ellys Perry, Heather Knight and Sophie Devine and have an excellent captain in Mandhana, who earned a league-high Rs. 3.40 crore selling player.
The team has Richa Ghosh which makes the team look strong. But looking at Indian talent, on paper, multi-time World Cup-winning Australian great Meg Lanning’s Delhi Capitals have a slight edge over their rivals. Along with Lanning, Jess Jonassen, Marijane Kapp and Ellies Capse are likely to be four foreign players, but Delhi’s Indian line-up is strong and dangerous. Shefali, Jemima Rodrigues, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Tania Bhatia, Radha Yadav are all experienced players from India.
Under-19 World Cup winning fast bowler Titas Sadhu, Kashmir’s Jasia Akhtar and wicket keeper Aparna Mandal are in the squad. Delhi Capitals picked up the best potential Indian talent. Lanning said in a Delhi Capitals release, “I’ve had a conversation with a few players and I’m trying to go to their strengths, how they want to play and what they think. Hopefully, I can learn something from these girls and impart some knowledge on them as well.” For Mandhana, it was easy to pick the four overseas players Kapp, Knight, Perry and fast bowler Megan Schutt. But his problem is to accommodate at least four Indian players. Three of these should be automatic selections, including captain himself Richa and fast bowler Renuka Thakur.
The teams are as follows:
Capitals of Delhi:
Meg Lanning (c), Shafali Verma, Jemima Rodrigues, Jess Jonassen, Elise Capse, Tara Norris, Laura Harris, Marijane Kapp, Poonam Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Tania Bhatia (wk), Aparna Mandal (wk), Titas Sadhu, Arundhati, Radha Yadav, Meenu Mani, Jasia Akhtar.
RCB:
Smriti Mandhana (c), Richa Ghosh (WK), Dane van Niekerk, Heather Knight, Elise Perry, Megan Schutt, Sophie Devine, Erin Burns, Disha Kasat, Sahana Pawar, Renuka Thakur, Komal Janjad, Poonam Khemnar, Kanika Ahuja, Pre Bose, Shobhana Asha, Shreyanka Patil and Indrani Roy (wicket keeper). The match will start at 7:30 PM IST.