In this article, we present to you our top picks of 5 things to watch out for in the 2025 Women’s Premier League (WPL) season.
Can the domestic players stamp their authority?
As we have seen in the past two seasons, foreign players have impacted the league more, especially the visiting batters who have ended up as top run-getters. With the exception of Shafali Varma and Smriti Mandhana, most Indian batters haven’t performed consistently.
As for bowling, it has certainly improved over the past year, with Shreyanka Patil and Asha Sobhana among the top wicket-takers, though Indian all-rounders have left a fair bit to be desired, with the likes of Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, and Marizanne Kapp being the more impressive all-rounders to make an impact on the league.
The WPL was initiated with the intent to emulate the success of Indian Premier League, which has helped unearth hidden gems and improve India’s bench strength in the limited-overs format. However, it hasn’t been the case so far in the WPL barring exceptions like Asha Sobhana and Shreyanka Patil, who have probably been the biggest success stories.
With Team India—the senior setup—performing poorly in ICC tournaments by their high standards, it remains to be seen if this year’s WPL can bring forth talented players who can compete against the world’s best players and make the cut for the senior national team setup.
Can the big-money signings make an impact?
The WPL mini-auction held in December last year saw some massive amounts spent.
The Gujarat Giants made a marquee signing by bringing back Barbadian legend Deandra Dottin (INR 1.7 Crore), while also going big on hard-hitting batter Simran Shaikh (INR 1.9 crore). The Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, banked on talented youngster Kamalini Gunalan for a massive INR 1.6 crore, while the Royal Challengers Bengaluru spent INR 1.2 crore on all-rounder Prema Rawat.
It will be exciting to have these players take the field in the upcoming season and watch how they go about proving their worth against the top talents from world cricket.
Also read: WPL 2025 Sponsors and Partners
Four different venues to host the WPL this season
As opposed to the last two seasons, where only two venues were allocated for the entire season, this time round there are four different venues to host the WPL games: Vadodara, Lucknow, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. The Delhi Capitals might be at a disadvantage this year as they won’t be playing in front of their home crowd, as compared to the other four franchises who will get to play at home.
Also, playing at four different venues won’t be easy given the reasonable difference in the weather and pitch conditions in these four locations. Only teams with balanced squads will be able to cope, and it will be interesting to see how the franchises set up on different venues and go about establishing said balance.
Injuries to critical players
While injury to important players can impact their team, the possibility of replacements can soften the blow. Top players like Alyssa Healy, Sophie Devine, Sophie Molineux, and Kate Cross won’t be part of the WPL this season due to injuries or personal issues.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the worst-hit team this year in terms of missing players, having already lost three players, most crucially their opener Sophie Devine and all-rounder Sophie Molineux. Elsewhere, the UP Warriorz will be without arguably their most important player in captain Alyssa Healy.
Both the RCB and the Warriorz are at a huge disadvantage given their absentees, but true champions and contenders manage to cope with such setbacks, and it will be interesting to see how they line up for their games this term.
Emergence of new talent
With India having successfully defended their U19 T20 World Cup title recently, it is evident there is no dearth of talent. A solid domestic setup has also ensured that experienced players get a look-in.
Among the youngsters, the likes of Kamalini Gunalan, Nandini Kashyap, Raghvi Bist, and Prema Rawat are the domestic players to watch out for. In the foreign contingent, Phoebe Litchfield, Charlie Dean, and Sarah Bryce are the most promising names.
It will be interesting to see as to how much game time these players get to make an impact for their respective franchises.
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