Five Domestic Players to watch out for in the Women’s Premier League 2025

Women’s cricket has gained massive popularity over the past few years and with the advent of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and international tournaments like the U-19 Women’s World Cup, new talent is emerging every year. A few new faces along with the many experienced ones will partake in this year’s Women Premier League in India.

Let’s take a look at five domestic players to watch out for – 

Simran Shaikh (Gujarat Giants)

Simran Shaikh is a 23-year-old batter who has been recently bought by the Gujarat Giants franchise in the auction for INR 1.90 crores. She was part of the UP Warriorz franchise in the WPL last season but failed to impress. 

Shaikh has scored 822 runs in 56 T20 matches in the domestic circuit at a strike rate of 120.35. She plays for Mumbai in the domestic circuit and is an aggressive batter who can hit powerful shots and clear long boundaries. She is a top order batter but can play in the middle order as well. Shaikh is a handy leg break bowler too. 

Even though she didn’t perform up to expectations in her first WPL season, the youngster has the potential to succeed and entertain with her aggressive batting style this time around.

G Kamalini (Mumbai Indians)

G Kamalini is a 16-year-old Tamil Nadu batter who impressed the Mumbai Indians so much that they shelled out a massive INR 1.60 crores on the teenager. She is one of the brightest talents in women’s cricket in the country. 

In the recent U-19 Women’s T20 Trophy, Kamalini was the top scorer of the tournament, amassing 311 runs in eight matches, leading Tamil Nadu to the trophy. She is also a part of the India Women’s U-19 team playing in the ongoing U-19 Cricket World Cup and performing superbly there as well. Kamalini came to limelight with a crucial performance of 29-ball 44 runs in a decisive run chase against Pakistan in the U-19 Asia Cup 2024 held in Malaysia. 

Still only 16, the youngster has a massive future ahead of her and performances in her debut WPL season could help her knock on the door for selection in the India Senior Women’s team as well. 

Prema Rawat (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)

Prema Rawat is a 23-year-old allrounder from Uttarakhand who was another uncapped player that was bagged by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru franchise for a whopping INR 1.20 crore in the WPL mini-auction.

Rawat represents Uttarakhand women in the domestic circuit and has slowly and steadily risen through the ranks. She is a right-handed lower order batter and a leg-break bowler while also being a top-class fielder. She has played 21 T20 domestic matches in which she has batted in only 8 innings so far, scoring 47 runs. Her bowling stats are far more engaging as she has 24 wickets in 21 matches with an average of 15.8 and a best figure of 4/17. These batting numbers might not look so good but she has the ability to rise to the occasion with the bat and can score crucial cameos. 

She can be a very good leg spin option on Indian pitches and also offers a decisive edge in batting lower down the order for RCB. This could prove to be an astute signing for the reigning WPL champion. 

Nandini Kashyap (Delhi Capitals)

Nandini Kashyap is a 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batter from Uttarakhand. She has also represented India in the U-19 Series against New Zealand. Kashyap’s stats in T20’s in the last year have been mighty impressive. Playing for the India-E and the Uttarakhand Women’s team, she has amassed 579 runs with an average of 57.90 and a strike rate of 131.89 in 12 T20 matches. 

Due to her recent performances in the domestic circuit, Delhi Capitals added her to their squad for her base price of INR 10 Lakhs for the upcoming WPL season. Going by her form in the previous year, this could be a bargain for the Delhi Capitals. 

It would be interesting to see how she performs in her debut WPL season. 

Raghvi Bist (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)

Raghvi Bist is another upcoming young player from Uttarakhand. The 20-year-old allrounder is a promising young batter who has impressed one and all with her recent performances. In Aug 2024, she was selected for the India A team on the tour to Australia. Bist scored three half-centuries on the tour in unofficial ODI’s against Australia A team. 

Bist received a maiden Team India call-up in Dec, 2024 and played two games against West Indies. She represented India A team on the tour to Australia. Bist scored three half-centuries on the tour in unofficial ODI’s against Australia A team. In the final of 2024 Women’s Challenger Trophy, she scored a half century (71 runs off 51 balls) and her team (India E) won the title. For her match-winning performance, she was awarded Player of the Match. Based on her brilliant performances, Bist received a maiden Team India call-up against West Indies. Bist played in two games scoring a 31 not out in the third T20I game. RCB added Bist to their squad for the base price of INR 10 Lakhs. 

This could prove to be a bargain signing for the Royal Challengers as she has shown massive improvements and consistency in her recent performances and could be one of the surprise packages of the WPL season.