The 2024 Women’s Premier League marks the second season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), a T20 league exclusively for women, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). This season will see five teams competing in the tournament, scheduled to run from February 23 to March 17, 2024.
Delhi Capitals
The Delhi Capitals represent New Delhi in the WPL. Owned by the GMR Group and JSW Group, which also owns the men’s team, the Capitals are a formidable presence. Led by coach Jonathan Batty and captain Meg Lanning, they made a significant mark in the inaugural WPL season, securing a spot in the final after topping their group. Despite their strong performance throughout the season, they were edged out by the Mumbai Indians in the final match. The Capitals will seek redemption as they face off against the defending champions in the season opener of the WPL 2024. The highly anticipated match is set to take place on February 23 in Bengaluru.
Delhi Capitals Squad
The squad features prominent Indian players such as top-order batters Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues, all-rounder Sneh Rana, and seamer Shikha Pandey. Additionally, the team benefits from the expertise of seasoned foreign all-rounders like Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen, adding depth to its roster. Meg Lanning, who led the team effectively last year, will continue to be their top player to watch out for, despite announcing international retirement. This year, the inclusion of Annabel Sutherland, purchased for a whopping Rs 2 crore, will strengthen their starting XI even further.
Full squad – Meg Lanning (c), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Laura Harris, Sneha Rana, Alice Capsey, Annabel Sutherland, Arundhati Reddy, Ashwani Kumari, Jess Jonassen, Marizanne Kapp, Minnu Mani, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Aparna Mondal, Taniyaa Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Titas Sadhu.
Predicted XI: Meg Lanning (C), Shafali Verma, Marizanne Kapp, Jemimah Rodrigues, Annabel Sutherland, Jess Jonassen, Taniya Bhatiya (WK), Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Minnu Mani, Titas Sadhu
Players to watch out for this season
Meg Lanning – The ex-captain of Australia, who hung up her international cricket boots last year, scored an impressive 345 runs from nine matches during WPL 2023, boasting an outstanding average of 49.28. Despite retiring from international cricket, not much has changed in Lanning’s game, and she continues to be among the best the business. This was recently seen in the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL), which she finished as the second top run-run scorer with 492 runs in 10 innings at a wonderful average of 82.
With the wealth of experience she brings to the table – an average and strike rate of 36.61 and 116.37 in her T20 international career, Lanning is one of the players to watch out for in the WPL 2024.
Annabel Sutherland – Australian all-rounder Annabel Sutherland emerged as the highest-priced player in the WPL Auction 2024, securing a deal with Delhi Capitals for Rs 2 crore. The significant price tag is justified given that she brings a lot of value to the table. Sutherland, a right-handed batter and right-arm medium fast bowler has scored 705 runs and taken 38 wickets in 53 matches in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). Talking about her very recent exploits, she hit the fastest double century in women’s Test cricket history against South Africa on February 16. Sutherland reached her double hundred off just 248 balls. Additionally, she finished with impressive figures of 9-2-19-3 with the ball.
The 22-year-old made her debut WPL debut in the inaugural season last year, after being bought by the Gujarat Giants However, she only featured in four matches, tallying 48 runs and claiming 3 wickets. Subsequently, she was released. This season, however, Sutherland is likely to be a permanent in Delhi’s playing XI.
Shafali Varma – Shafali Verma has not had the best of times in international cricket recently, but remains one of the players to watch out for nevertheless. In her, Delhi have an attacking and aggressive opening batsman.
On her WPL debut last year, she scored 84 runs in just 45 balls against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, and finished the season with 252 runs in nine games at a strike rate of almost 186.
At just 15, she made her T20 international debut against South Africa in 2019. That made her India’s youngest T20I player and, in November 2019, she became the youngest Indian cricketer to score a half-century in international cricket against the West Indies.
Shikha Panday – Turning to Delhi’s bowling lineup, the spotlight falls on seasoned bowler Shikha Pandey. She led the side’s wicket-taking charts last season, securing 10 dismissals, including a standout performance of 3-23. Notably, this marked the best bowling figures by an Indian pacer in the tournament. Her economical bowling, conceding just six runs per over, was also impressive.
Since she has not played any international cricket since her stellar showing in WPL 2023, there might be some rustiness in her performances initially. Nonetheless, her wealth of experience remains invaluable to the team, and Shikha will be keen to demonstrate that she still has plenty to offer.
Jemimah Rodrigues – Jemimah Rodrigues was expected to be among the top run-scorers in WPL 2023, but her dismal returns disappointed fans. She scored only 126 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of around 129. Her recent numbers in T20 internationals have not been impressive either. But she has done well in the other two formats recently, and was also one of the nominees for ICC Player of the Month award for December 2023.
Jemimah played a crucial role in India’s consecutive Test victories against England and Australia. On her Test debut against England at DY Patil Stadium, she scored a half-century. In the match against Australia, Jemimah contributed with a solid 73. Additionally, she emerged as India’s top scorer in the ODI series against Australia, posting scores of 82 and 44 in the first two matches. She will now look to produce similar performances in the shortest format when the WPL 2024 gets underway.
Delhi Capitals Schedule for WPL 2024
February 23: Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians in Bangalore at 7.30 PM IST
February 26: Delhi Capitals vs UP Warriors in Bangalore at 7.30 PM IST
February 29: Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bangalore at 7.30 PM IST
March 3: Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Giants in Bangalore at 7.30 PM IST
March 5: Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians in New Delhi at 7.30 PM IST
March 8: Delhi Capitals vs UP Warriors in New Delhi at 7.30 PM IST
March 10: Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in New Delhi at 7.30 PM IST
March 13: Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Giants in New Delhi at 7.30 PM IST.
