With a new coaching set-up in hand, team will be keen to move up from the bottom of the points table this time around
Srinidhi Ramanujam12-Feb-20252:05
Chopra: Giants over-reliant on their overseas players
Where Giants finished last seasonGujarat Giants (GG) finished at the bottom for the second consecutive season. They started with four defeats in a row and never recovered from that slide. Eventually, they ended the season with just two wins in eight games.What’s new this yearAshleigh Gardner will be the new Giants captain, having taken over the reins from her fellow national team-mate Beth Mooney. Gardner has been with the Giants since the inaugural season and was the team’s vice-captain for most of the first edition after Mooney picked up a calf injury one game into WPL 2023. Whether Giants can turn their fortunes around under Gardner’s leadership is something to keep an eye on. They have also parted ways with Mithali Raj (mentor), and Nooshin Al Khadeer (assistant coach) after two seasons with Daniel Marsh and Pravin Tambe coming on board as batting and bowling coaches, respectively.But Giants made headlines when they roped in experienced Deandra Dottin and young Simran Shaikh to fix their batting woes. Shaikh was the biggest buy in the auction with the team spending INR 1.9 crore on her. Among the overseas players, Dottin was paid the highest, INR 1.7 crore. Both were not part of WPL last season.Related
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In the bowling department, Giants added England fast bowler Danielle Gibson and uncapped legspinner Prakashika Naik having released experienced players such as Kathryn Bryce, Lea Tahuhu and Sneh Rana ahead of the auction.Giants’ likely best XI1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Laura Wolvaardt/Phoebe Litchfield, 3 D Hemalatha, 4 Deandra Dottin, 5 Harleen Deol, 6 Ash Gardner (capt), 7 Simran Shaikh, 8 Shabnam Shakil, 9 Meghna Singh, 10 Priya Mishra, 11 Tanuja KanwarOther players: Bharti Fulmali, Kashvee Gautam, Mannat Kashyap, Sayali Sathgare, Danielle Gibson, Prakashika NaikSimran Shaikh was with UPW in 2023 but was unsold for 2024•BCCIKey players: Ashleigh Gardner, Deandra Dottin and Beth MooneyDottin and Mooney will be expected to play important roles with the bat in the Giant’s top four. Both of them are coming off an impressive run in international cricket – Mooney was the highest run-getter in the recently concluded Ashes, where she hit 213 in three T20Is. Dottin was the leading scorer for West Indies against Bangladesh in T20Is, where she accumulated 110 runs in three matches at a stunning strike rate of 203.7. They will hope that the likes of Laura Wolvaardt, Mooney and Dottin will carry forward their international form into WPL and ensure Giants do not end up in the same position as last year.That aside, having shown tremendous consistency for Australia over the years, Gardner would be expected to step up with the ball in the WPL and turn her ordinary performances into match-winning ones. She had a decent WPL last year and was the second-highest wicket-taker for the team with seven scalps from eight matches at an economy rate of 7.75.Young one to watch: Simran ShaikhIt will be a fresh start for the Mumbai allrounder who went unsold in the 2024 auction after an underwhelming season with UP Warriorz in 2023. In seven innings, she scored just 29 runs in the inaugural edition. However, she has returned to the WPL with massive expectations. Giants head coach Micheal Klinger had said she “stands out in terms of her hitting power and strike rate” and hinted at using her as a pinch-hitter in the top six or seven. Shaikh scored 176 runs in nine innings at the 2024 senior women’s T20 trophy at a strike rate of 100.57 but at Giants, she might be able to offer more than what these numbers suggest.Gujarat Giants’ league fixtures in WPL 2025Giants will play the opening game of the WPL against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Vadodara on February 14. They play two more matches at home before moving to Bengaluru and Lucknow for two matches each. Their final group game will be against Mumbai Indians in Brabourne on March 10.
