Ranking the spin combinations of all WPL 2023 teams
The inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) is up and running, with five games done and dusted. The batter-friendly wickets and shorter boundaries have given us some high-scoring matches and made bowlers' lives increasingly difficult.
The Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals' batters have blown away the opposition and won both of their opening WPL games.
Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Giants have ended up on the losing side in their first two WPL fixtures, setting up an interesting clash between them tomorrow.
MI left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque looks to be one of the finds of the tournament and tops the wicket-taking charts with six wickets in only two games.
However, some other spinners haven't been as successful as her, bringing into question the difference in quality between the spinners of the five sides. Let's now rank the spin bowling combinations of the five WPL teams.
#5 Royal Challengers Bangalore
Spin-Bowling Options: Dane van Niekerk, Heather Knight, Preeti Bose, Asha Shobana, Poonam Khemnar, Sahana Pawar, Kanika Ahuja, and Erin Burns.
On paper, that might look like plenty of options for the RCB, but the way it has turned out for them on the pitch hasn't been impressive. It is now well-known that spin bowling was a weakness for RCB in the WPL, but the presence of Dane van Niekerk potentially kept them off the bottom.
However, their entire bowling, not just the spinners, has been poor so far. Part of that can be attributed to the batting lineups they've faced. However, you can't run away from the fact that they don't have many recognized specialist spinners.
Preeti Bose, who has six international caps, and Dane van Niekerk, who hasn't got a game yet, are the only quality spinners in their ranks.
While they can still improve on this front if they provide more game time and test out some options they haven't played so far, RCB is the least impressive spin unit so far.
#4 Gujarat Giants
Spin-Bowling Options: Georgia Wareham, Ashleigh Gardner, Tanuja Kanwar, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Parunika Sisodia, and Sneh Rana.
Another team that has struggled in their two opening games of the WPL season is the Gujarat Giants, whose spin bowling department doesn't quite match up to some of the other teams on paper.
While they have a couple of quality overseas options in Aussies Ashleigh Gardner and Georgia Wareham, they don't seem to have the same depth and quality among their Indian options, with Sneh Rana the only recognized frontline spinner.
Both Wareham and Gardner haven't had much success so far, but that can be attributed to their more batter-friendly wickets.
All in all, though, the Giants have put on two mediocre bowling displays so far, with their spinners not their biggest strength.
#3 Delhi Capitals
Spin-Bowling Options: Jess Jonassen, Radha Yadav, Minnu Mani, Sneha Deepthi, Shafali Verma, and Poonam Yadav.
The Delhi Capitals might not have the number of options some other WPL teams might have, and that can be chalked down to the fact that they've selected more specialist batters or bowlers than all-rounders.
However, the options they do possess are pretty solid, and there's a good mix of experience and variety in their spin bowling roster.
Aussie bowling all-rounder Jess Jonassen showcased her class in the win against the UP Warriorz with both ball and bat. Radha Yadav is one of India's key players, and while she's not in the best of form, she's a top spinner at the international level.
They also have the experience and wicket-taking ability of leg-spinner Poonam Yadav to lean on, and she's someone we're sure to see once the wickets start slowing down later this season. Shafali Verma and a couple of others round out a compact but solid spin bowling unit.
#2 Mumbai Indians
Spin-Bowling Options: Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Harmanpreet Kaur, Chloe Tryon, Saika Ishaque, and Neelam Bisht.
Based on their current form, the Mumbai Indians' spinners should be at the top of the list, but looking at it a bit more objectively and statistically, they take second place. Like they've done in the Men's IPL, MI's scouting seems to be top-notch yet again with the discovery of a talent like Saika Ishaque ahead the WPL auction.
The left-arm spinner tops the wicket-taking charts after two games, picking up four wickets in the first match against the Gujarat Giants before derailing RCB's start in the second match with a double strike. She's undoubtedly been the side's best spinner, but Hayley Matthews takes a close second place.
The all-rounder bowled a top spell in the game against RCB, picking up three crucial wickets. Amelia Kerr has always been a top-quality leg spinner, and with Chloe Tryon as a backup overseas option, MI has more than enough quality spin bowling options. Harmanpreet Kaur's handy off-spin shouldn't be forgotten either.
Overall, MI has a well-balanced, extremely potent spin bowling roster that doesn't have many weaknesses.
#1 UP Warriorz
Spin-Bowling Options: Sophie Ecclestone, Deepti Sharma, Shweta Sehrawat, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Devika Vaidya, Parshavi Chopra, and Rajeshwari Gayakwad.
While some may be leaning towards the Mumbai Indians having the best spin-bowling unit in the WSL, I feel that would be a knee-jerk reaction, especially when you consider the quality the UP Warriorz possesses.
They have three players from India's first-choice T20I squad, the world's best bowler, Sophie Ecclestone, and two of India's U-19 stars as their spin bowling options.
It hasn't quite come together for UP so far, with their bowlers getting taken apart by the Delhi Capitals or even by the Gujarat Giants to some extent. While Deepti and Sophie Ecclestone had a good first game against Gujarat, they were taken for runs in the second match against DC.
Nevertheless, with bowlers of most teams struggling, especially in the first innings of matches, the UP spinners should get some slack after losing the toss in both games. They're bound to showcase their quality by the time the tournament ends and have the best spin unit in the league.