WPL 2023: 5 players who flopped in Week 1 of the tournament

The opening week of the inaugural edition of the ongoing Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 is now in the history books.

The first week of the historic tournament commenced with a dominating win by the Mumbai Indians (MI) against the Gujarat Giants (GG) and concluded with a match that saw UP Warriorz comfortably beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Friday, March 10.

As far as the WPL points table is concerned, MI have been the team to beat, claiming all six points so far. RCB, on the other hand, entered the tournament as one of the favorites but are yet to open their account.

The first week of the competition saw eight games played, with a total of 2,577 runs being scored and 93 wickets being taken.

Which team will end up winning the WPL 23? 🤩🔥

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While a number of players stood out and shone for their franchises, a few players also underperformed and were far from their best across seven days so far.

On that note, let's take a look at five of those players who flopped in Week 1 of the WPL in Mumbai.

#5 Shikha Pandey - DC

WPL 2023 - Royal Challengers Bangalore v Delhi Capitals

One of the most experienced Indian pace bowlers in the tournament, Shikha Pandey hasn't been prolific enough for the Delhi franchise so far.

In the three innings she has bowled, the Telangana-born pacer has scalped only twice. While her economy rate of 7.36 has been decent, DC would've wanted a better bowling average than 44.5.

With the experience of taking over 120 wickets for India across formats, Pandey will look to contribute for her franchise in the upcoming games.

#4 Sabbhineni Meghana - GG

Sabbhineni Meghana was looking at a great touch 🤯

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Gujarat Giants' opener Sabbhineni Meghana had three brilliant opportunities to announce herself on the big stage but couldn't do so in the first three games. A player who can wreak havoc on her day, the 26-year-old has only managed 34 runs at an average of 11.3 across the three games thus far.

While the right-hander enjoyed a decent start in the game against UP and scored 24 runs off 15 balls, she failed to make it count.

#3 Annabel Sutherland - GG

Another GG and the only overseas player on the list is Annabel Sutherland. Alongside another Australian in Ashleigh Gardner, Sutherland forms the middle-order of the franchise but has so far failed to win the tournament.

The 21-year-old all-rounder who recently won Australia's domestic Player of the Year (2022) award, hasn't contributed enough. With the bat, Sutherland has only scored 28 runs at a strike rate of 87.5 despite batting at No. 4 and No. 5.

With her right-arm pace, Sutherland has bowled ten overs in total and has bagged three wickets. However, her economy rate of 11.9 is an alarming sign for GG.

#2 Richa Ghosh - RCB

Richa Ghosh in action for RCB [PC: Twitter]

Richa Ghosh entered the WPL on the back of a superlative ICC Women's T20 World Cup where she smashed 136 runs at an average of 68 and at a strike rate of 130.7.

Unfortunately, for Ghosh and RCB, she has failed to bring much of her form to the ongoing tournament. In four games, she has managed scores of 2, 28, 10 and 1, accumulating an overall score of just 41 runs.

Richa Ghosh's last 5 T20 innings hasn't matched her reputation. She failed to cross 30-run mark and even has a poor strike-rate.

RCB needs her to step up with the bat in WPL 2023.

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RCB will hope for better performances from their wicket-keeper batter in the second half of the tournament, which is going to be extremely crucial in deciding the team's fortunes.

#1 Smriti Mandhana - RCB

Inarguably the biggest letdown of the WPL so far has been none other than Smriti Mandhana. Captain Mandhana, who was the most expensive player (₹3.40 crore) in the WPL 2023 auction, has not met expectations this season.

The 26-year-old, who has seen massive success with India, hasn't been able to walk the talk for RCB, mustering only 80 runs across four innings.

The most expensive player in the WPL auction, Smriti Mandhana has struggled in the tournament so far 💔

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While she has enjoyed starts in almost all four innings, Mandhana hasn't put up a big score yet, which has cost RCB on more than one occasion. The southpaw's weakness against off-spinners is well-known but she has fallen victim to that type of bowling three successive times.

Apart from this, her captaincy has been poor, to say the least. Mandhana's team changes and bowling changes have left a lot to be desired by fans. RCB will be hoping for a roaring comeback from Mandhana in the upcoming fixtures.