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The WPL (Women's Premier League), a tournament that an entire cricketing fraternity has waited for, one that can change the landscape of women's cricket not only in India but around the world is set to begin tonight (March 4) at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
Gujarat Giants take on Mumbai Indians in the first game of the Women's Premier League 2023.
With the arrival of the tournament, we enter the season-long Fantasy season, which began with the Women's T20 WC Fantasy.
Powered by Dream11, the WPL 2023 Fantasy league is similar to IPL Fantasy, with three boosters and 50 transfers for the 22 games that await us. The game opened late last night, and as a result, the number of players registered is fairly low so far. Hopefully, it will rise before the deadline.
A system of net transfer calculation and the choice to cancel boosters played before the deadline are the main changes ahead of this season. So without further ado, let's look at an ideal fantasy team ahead of the first match of WPL 2023.
Transfer Deadline: 08:00 pm on Saturday, March 4.
Note: The suggested team is subject to change depending on the toss or other unexpected team news. Any such changes will be updated in the articles for the next matchday.
WPL Fantasy 2023 - Best Fantasy XI for Match 1 - GG vs MI: Thoughts and Captaincy Tips
Wicketkeepers: Beth Mooney (GG) (10 Credits)
Batters: Jemimah Rodrigues (DC) (9 Credits), Smriti Mandhana (RCB) (10.5 Credits), and Kiran Navgire (UP) (7 Credits)
All-Rounders: Ashleigh Gardner (GG) (10.5 Credits), Nat Sciver-Brunt (MI) (10 Credits), Hayley Matthews (MI) (9 Credits), and Sneh Rana (GG) (8.5 Credits)
Bowlers: Pooja Vastrakar (MI) (8.5 Credits), Shikha Pandey (DC) (8 Credits), and Renuka Singh (RCB) (9 Credits)
Setting a fantasy team for a 5-team league is a challenge because, with games coming thick and fast, one doesn't get to reap the benefits of planning and making good transfers according to the schedule as much as you do in a tournament with eight or ten teams.
Nevertheless, I'm starting the season with six players from this first clash, four from the RCB-DC game tomorrow (Sunday, March 5) afternoon, and one player from UP Warriorz, who face Gujarat Giants (they play again in less than 24 hours).
There's a slight change in the dynamic while picking teams in women's cricket, with the focus shifting more to all-rounders and spinners. Having a specialist batter is almost a rarity, and it does become difficult to fill those slots. RCB and DC seem to have the bulk of the quality batting options, with UP Warriorz having a couple of nice uncapped picks.
Beth Mooney is my wicketkeeper pick, and her selection is quite self-explanatory, considering her consistency. All four all-rounders in my team come from this fixture, with the in-form Nat Sciver-Brunt and Ashleigh Gardners must-haves and Sneh Rana an easy utility pick.
It was a toss-up between Amelia Kerr and Hayley Matthews for the fourth overseas player spot, and I'm leaning toward the latter right now. My only fear is that Amelia Kerr might get dropped down the order, and that could affect her overall points. However, her bowling is stronger than Matthews' so could that help her outscore the West Indies captain? We'll get to find out. For now, I'm sticking with Hayley Matthews.
Onto the bowlers, Pooja Vastrakar will spearhead the MI pace lineup, which does look a bit weak on paper. She will have plenty of responsibility on her shoulders and could shine with the ball.
As for those not playing this WPL game, the selections of Smriti Mandhana and Renuka Singh don't need much explanation. It was a toss-up between Jemimah Rodriguez and Shafali Verma, and I'm backing the former due to her better form in the T20 World Cup. There are a lot of expectations from the hard-hitting Kiran Navgire, and if she gets the opportunity to bat up the order, she could light up the league.
Lastly, seam bowler Shikha Pandey was a shrewd acquisition by Delhi Capitals. She joins the two other Indian seam-bowling regulars, Renuka Singh and Pooja Vastrakar.
Captaincy for Match 1: Ashleigh Gardner looks like the best captaincy option coming into this WPL game, with question marks rising over the number of overs the MI all-rounders could get with the ball, given the amount of bowling options captain Harmanpreet Kaur has at her disposal. Nat-Sciver Brunt, Beth Mooney or Hayley Matthews look like solid vice-captain picks.
WPL Fantasy 2023 - Best Fantasy XI for Match 1 - GG vs MI: Final Lineup
Wicketkeepers: Beth Mooney (GG) (10 Credits).
Batters: Jemimah Rodrigues (DC) (9 Credits), Smriti Mandhana (RCB) (10.5 Credits), and Kiran Navgire (UP) (7 Credits)
All-Rounders: Ashleigh Gardner (GG) (10.5 Credits), Nat Sciver-Brunt (MI) (10 Credits), Hayley Matthews (MI) (9 Credits), and Sneh Rana (GG) (8.5 Credits)
Bowlers: Pooja Vastrakar (MI) (8.5 Credits), Shikha Pandey (DC) (8 Credits), and Renuka Singh (RCB) (9 Credits)
Note: The players in bold are playing in this WPL game.
