3 reasons why Gujarat Giants appointing Beth Mooney as captain is the wrong move
The Gujarat Giants announced Australian batter Beth Mooney as the captain of the side for the upcoming Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 season. Indian all-rounder Sneh Rana will be Mooney's deputy.
Mooney was appointed captain in the first season as well, but an injury cut short her campaign, leaving her playing just the first game. Rana led the side in her absence and will continue to be her deputy for the upcoming season as well.
Earlier, the franchise made a change in leadership when they replaced coach Rachael Haynes with former Australian T20 opener Michael Klinger. He will work alongside mentor and advisor Mithali Raj and assistant coach Nooshin Al Khadeer.
Since making her T20I debut in 2016, Beth Mooney has been an incredible asset for Australia. She is the fastest women's cricket player to reach 2,000 runs and has amassed the second-most fifties (24) in this format for any batter.
While her batting prowess is never in question, Mooney's appointment as skipper of the franchise for the upcoming WPL 2024 may not be a feasible option.
In this article, we will look at some of the reasons why Beth Mooney's appointment as Gujarat Giants captain is not the right move for the side.
#3 Beth Mooney lacks captaincy experience
Beth Mooney is for sure one of the best batters in the world going around across all formats of women's cricket and a key cog in every Australian domination.
However, the 30-year-old has little captaincy experience and has not led any WBBL or Australian domestic team. Even in WBBL 2023, she wasn't considered for the leadership role, with Sophie Devine named skipper of the Perth Scorchers side.
Mooney's only captaincy stint came in last year's WPL, where she led the Gujarat side against the Mumbai Indians. It was evident that she struggled to rotate the bowlers astutely.
#2 Gujarat does have an ideal option in Sneh Rana
The Gujarat Giants must have brainstormed before making up their minds to prefer Beth Mooney over Sneh Rana as their skipper.
Modern T20 is not all about match-ups and strategies made in the dressing room by the team management; it's also about being proactive on the ground, which needs a sharp and cool head.
With Mooney having little or no experience in this role, things might go wrong during the season. On the other hand, Gujarat did have Rana as an Indian option for this leadership role. The Indian all-rounder recently led the Central Zone women in the Senior Women's Inter-Zonal One Day Trophy.
Rana also led teams to the title in the Women's T20 Quadrangular Series, the Women's Challenger Trophy, the Senior Women's T20 Trophy, the Women's T20 Challenger Trophy, and the Senior Women's Inter-Zonal One Day Trophy.
#1 Locks one foreign slot, disturbing the structure of the side
On paper, the Gujarat Giants do not find themselves as the front-runners to clinch the title, despite having some of the biggest names in the overseas contingent, such as Phoebe Litchfield, Lee Tahuhu, and Ashleigh Gardner, among others for the WPL 2024 title, with their structure lacking firepower among domestic talents.
With this being said, they need flexibility in their foreign options to cover those gaps. With Mooney as captain, a foreign slot will be locked in the XI, which might harm them in WPL 2024.