WPL: Skipper Harmanpreet makes a comeback as MI aim to rev up their aggression

Chandigarh: The Mumbai Indians, who emerged victorious in the inaugural T20 Women’s Premier League (WPL), are all set to kick off their campaign against Delhi Capitals in Vadodara on Saturday. The spotlight will be on skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who missed out on the series against Ireland and was sidelined for the two matches against West Indies at home due to a knee injury.

The fans would be eyeing some power-hitting from the swashbuckling batter who is known for hitting big sixes. At the same time, Kaur, who turns 36 next month, will eye WPL as the platform to make a comeback, addressing form and fitness issues.

A successful WPL season will give confidence to Kaur, who will be India’s main middle-order batter as the team builds up to the ODI World Cup to be staged at home in September.

As captain, she will have to work in conjunction with head coach and former England legend Charlotte Edwards, former Australia opener Nicole Bolton the fielding coach and mentor Jhulan Goswami, who is doing wonders as mentor of the Bengal women’s team.

Though MI lost to eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the closely-fought Eliminator last season, they would be charged up for the third season, and go all out to win the title. What gives them an edge is that MI has got top-notch international all-rounders in Nadine de Klerk, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews and Amelia Kerr along with domestic all-rounders Akshita Maheshwari, Sanskriti Gupta and 16-year-old G.Kamalini, bidding for whom made heads turn in the WPL auction where the U-19 World Cup star was bought for a whopping ₹1.6 crore.

Unlike the first time when India won the U-19 Women’s World Cup in 2023, there was no hysteria after India won their second title on February 2 with some of the victorious team members joining their WPL franchises. It would be interesting to see how Kamalini, who hit two fifties as opener at the business end of the junior World Cup, fare in WPL.

South African imports Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon also add depth to the squad.

Last season, Ismail bowled the fastest delivery ever recorded in women’s cricket, clocking 132.1 kph, and also bowled the most number of dot balls (97) in WPL. However, injury to medium-pacer Pooja Vastrakar could hurt the MI set up.

Ahead of the tournament, Edwards highlighted a cultural shift towards more fearless cricket for their campaign, talking on the sidelines of MI’s training sessions in Navi Mumbai. “It has been a brilliant few days. Initially, having a lot of the Indian domestic players, we as a coaching team have been able to dedicate a lot of time to them. A lot of our focus in training has also been around match scenarios. We have put them in a number of scenarios that we feel they will be put during the WPL. Hopefully, that has given them a real insight into where they are at the moment,” she explained.

“Every player that comes into MI hopefully knows what’s expected of them. But equally important is that aggressive approach which is what we want to have throughout when we bat, bowl or field – that is something we tried to put across to most of the players,” added Edwards.

MI are one of the three teams that will play league matches in all four cities hosting WPL 2025. They also play the last game of the league stage, which could help if things get tight -- they will know the exact qualification scenarios.

MI team: Amanjot Kaur, Amelia Kerr, Chloe Tryon, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Hayley Matthews, G Kamalini, Jintimani Kalita, Natalie Sciver, Akshita Maheshwari, Pooja Vastrakar, Saika Ishaque, Yastika Bhatia, Shabnim Ismail, Amanjot Kaur, S. Sajana, Keerthana, Nadine de Klerk, Sanskriti Gupta.

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