WPL | Q and A with Jeet Vachharajani
Written By: Cricket Queens
Date: 13-02-2023
Picture Courtesy: Cricket Queens
Q. Since only 30 slots are open for Overseas players, do you think the overseas slots will be mostly filled with Australian and England players? Also, apart from Australia & England players, which other country players will be most picked according to you?? (By @Ripsylobo12)
Yes, I expect anywhere between 40-50% of the overseas slots to be occupied by the Australian players. Next on the list would be the English & South African players.
Q. Any unknown/lesser known names (to the common public say who don’t follow Nz domestic cricket much) that might spring a surprise from the NZ domestic circuit in the auction? (By @Cric_Karthikk)
I don't think that the lesser-known shortlisted players are going to find bidders. The only chance is that of Jess Watkin, & that is only if teams decide to ignore the recent numbers.
Q. more of a philosophical Q, any nice examples from other women's leagues of uncapped players rubbing shoulders with global superstars and then stepping up for their nation? (By @radhalathgupta)
FairBreak is the first & the only name that comes to my mind considering the vast majority of the associates + the big names who had joined hands last year. But these players weren't uncapped players, just that they were lesser-known being the associates & seeing them play with the legends of cricket was special. By the time the FairBreak ended last season, they had ensured that the lesser-known names weren't lesser-known anymore.
Q. what are your honest expectations from the first season wrt to average scores, viewerships (both tv and in stadium) and the uncapped Indian talent coming through? (By @dhairya21b)
WPL is going to be successful. If not 10, we still do have five franchises to look forward to. The craze is for real & so is the hype that the WPL will live up to. The average scores will be high in the first season, purely because of the two shortlisted venues.
Q. Which associate nation players will be preferred in the auction you feel? Also, will the two venue CCI & DY Patil influence the auction picks? (By @RituD307)
The UAE players are in with a good shot. Tara Norris seems like a player specifically shortlisted by the Mumbai Indians & they might look to target her. Kathryn Bryce is also very likely to find bidders because of what she offers & one must that not forget that she is in the top 10 all-rounders in T20I cricket.
Yes, I am guessing the venues will have an influence purely because IND-AUS very recently played at those two venues & the record of some players at CCI from 2018 could play a part. However, I'd want the teams to find a balanced approach rather than get lost by the recent numbers. You need to build a long-term team. This year, it's in Mumbai. Next year, it could be somewhere else where the conditions might be vastly different.
Q. Will the franchises prefer Indian captains or foreign captains in the first edition? (By @Crictopher17)
Q. Will any franchise opt for Non Indian captain? (By @marvelousmukesh)
Smriti Mandhana & Harmanpreet Kaur are almost certain to be leading their franchise, thus leaving out 3 more franchises with open spots. One of them could end up getting occupied by Deepti Sharma or Sneh Rana. So Indians are likely to be leading 3/5 sides, as per my thinking. The two spots remaining could be occupied by Meg Lanning (Gujarat Giants) & one of Sophie Devine/Heather Knight.
Q. Who do you think should be the five first choice wicket keepers, given the scarcity of keepers who are gun with the bat in the format? (By @Cricket_Savant)
Richa Ghosh at such a young age is going to be an exciting prospect & perhaps, the most expensive Indian wicket-keeper. Besides her, some of the top wicket-keepers shall include Alyssa Healy, Amy Jones, Beth Mooney (could be looked at as WK), one Indian wicket-keeper in maybe Yastika Bhatia, Sushma Verma, or Taniya Bhatia.
Q. Some of the domestic talents that you look forward to in the auction? (By @anae7_smiash)
That's a tough one & I'd like to keep the cards close to my chest with most of the names. But, we have some gun batters in our system. It's still a pity to see a couple of names not get shortlisted despite this being WPL, which shall consist of all top domestics since the list is dominated by Indians like you'd expect. But, the one name I am very excited about is - Kiran Navgire!
Q. Will teams go for shefali as captain? (By @cricaddictninad)
No, it's too early for her to be leading any senior side.
WPL | Q and A with Jeet Vachharajani
Written By: Cricket Queens
Date: 13-02-2023
Picture Courtesy: Cricket Queens
Q. Since only 30 slots are open for Overseas players, do you think the overseas slots will be mostly filled with Australian and England players? Also, apart from Australia & England players, which other country players will be most picked according to you?? (By @Ripsylobo12)
Yes, I expect anywhere between 40-50% of the overseas slots to be occupied by the Australian players. Next on the list would be the English & South African players.
Q. Any unknown/lesser known names (to the common public say who don’t follow Nz domestic cricket much) that might spring a surprise from the NZ domestic circuit in the auction? (By @Cric_Karthikk)
I don't think that the lesser-known shortlisted players are going to find bidders. The only chance is that of Jess Watkin, & that is only if teams decide to ignore the recent numbers.
Q. more of a philosophical Q, any nice examples from other women's leagues of uncapped players rubbing shoulders with global superstars and then stepping up for their nation? (By @radhalathgupta)
FairBreak is the first & the only name that comes to my mind considering the vast majority of the associates + the big names who had joined hands last year. But these players weren't uncapped players, just that they were lesser-known being the associates & seeing them play with the legends of cricket was special. By the time the FairBreak ended last season, they had ensured that the lesser-known names weren't lesser-known anymore.
Q. what are your honest expectations from the first season wrt to average scores, viewerships (both tv and in stadium) and the uncapped Indian talent coming through? (By @dhairya21b)
WPL is going to be successful. If not 10, we still do have five franchises to look forward to. The craze is for real & so is the hype that the WPL will live up to. The average scores will be high in the first season, purely because of the two shortlisted venues.
Q. Which associate nation players will be preferred in the auction you feel? Also, will the two venue CCI & DY Patil influence the auction picks? (By @RituD307)
The UAE players are in with a good shot. Tara Norris seems like a player specifically shortlisted by the Mumbai Indians & they might look to target her. Kathryn Bryce is also very likely to find bidders because of what she offers & one must that not forget that she is in the top 10 all-rounders in T20I cricket.
Yes, I am guessing the venues will have an influence purely because IND-AUS very recently played at those two venues & the record of some players at CCI from 2018 could play a part. However, I'd want the teams to find a balanced approach rather than get lost by the recent numbers. You need to build a long-term team. This year, it's in Mumbai. Next year, it could be somewhere else where the conditions might be vastly different.
Q. Will the franchises prefer Indian captains or foreign captains in the first edition? (By @Crictopher17)
Q. Will any franchise opt for Non Indian captain? (By @marvelousmukesh)
Smriti Mandhana & Harmanpreet Kaur are almost certain to be leading their franchise, thus leaving out 3 more franchises with open spots. One of them could end up getting occupied by Deepti Sharma or Sneh Rana. So Indians are likely to be leading 3/5 sides, as per my thinking. The two spots remaining could be occupied by Meg Lanning (Gujarat Giants) & one of Sophie Devine/Heather Knight.
Q. Who do you think should be the five first choice wicket keepers, given the scarcity of keepers who are gun with the bat in the format? (By @Cricket_Savant)
Richa Ghosh at such a young age is going to be an exciting prospect & perhaps, the most expensive Indian wicket-keeper. Besides her, some of the top wicket-keepers shall include Alyssa Healy, Amy Jones, Beth Mooney (could be looked at as WK), one Indian wicket-keeper in maybe Yastika Bhatia, Sushma Verma, or Taniya Bhatia.
Q. Some of the domestic talents that you look forward to in the auction? (By @anae7_smiash)
That's a tough one & I'd like to keep the cards close to my chest with most of the names. But, we have some gun batters in our system. It's still a pity to see a couple of names not get shortlisted despite this being WPL, which shall consist of all top domestics since the list is dominated by Indians like you'd expect. But, the one name I am very excited about is - Kiran Navgire!
Q. Will teams go for shefali as captain? (By @cricaddictninad)
No, it's too early for her to be leading any senior side.