New Delhi, Feb 13 Ahead of the start of the third edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur believes the five-team tournament has been a big reason behind the strike rate of all batters becoming better in the ongoing 2024/25 domestic season.
As the five teams gear up for a brand new season of the WPL running from February 14 to March 15, it comes behind the backdrop of a domestic season where the batters have been expressive at the crease, leading to more attacking strokeplay being seen in the matches.
It’s also helped that the WPL franchises have been holding off-season and pre-season camps for Indian players which work mainly on enhancing the players’ skillsets, as well as work on their fitness and nutrition levels.
“One thing was very clear - if we talk about our domestic cricket this season, the strike rate of all the batters was much better. That (WPL) was the only reason. There were more than 300 runs in domestic (games) and everyone was batting with a very good approach. So I think the domestic cricketers saw one thing from WPL if they want to participate in this competition, they really need to work hard on their strike rate and power-hitting ability.”
Harmanpreet’s point is further justified through the Senior Women's One-Day Trophy quarter-final between Bengal and Haryana in Rajkot. In that match, Shafali Verma smashed a 115-ball 197 for Haryana, but Bengal pulled off the chase with five wickets in hand and five balls to spare.
Tanusree Sarkar led the way for Bengal chasing a mammoth total with 113 off 83 balls, while Priyanka Bala, Dhara Gujjar and Sasthi Mondal scored half-centuries as Bengal clinched the record for highest successful chase in women's List A cricket.
“I think that (effect of WPL on batters’ strike rates) we have seen in our domestic cricket and that's also the biggest positive that we have taken from WPL and our cricketers are working on that. Power-hitting ability and fielding, I think there are a lot of areas they are trying to improve every season, so that is a very good thing,” added Harmanpreet.
MI, the WPL 2023 winners, will begin their 2025 season against the Delhi Capitals at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara on February 15. After Vadodara, MI will play its games in Bengaluru, Lucknow and home venue Mumbai.
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