The second season of the WPL is starting from 23rd Feb and the Indian Players are the backbone of the WPL because 7 out of the 11 players in the teams are Indian players. This is the Indian Women’s Premier league and therefore the major focus is the Indian stars. And the first season of the WPL was great for some Indian stars but poor for others. There were also some stars that were made such as Saika Ishaque from Mumbai Indians.
Let’s look at the Top 5 Indian Players to Watch Out For in WPL 2024
1) Smriti Mandhana – Royal Challengers Bangalore
The highest paid player in the WPL has to be the number 1 player in this list. She is one of the biggest stars in Indian Women’s cricket along with Harmanpreet Kaur. Smriti Mandhana had an extremely poor first season where she was not able to cross the 150 run mark in 8 innings. She was getting out cheaply and especially to spinners. She will look to stand up as the captain of this team and get more than 300 runs in this season at a strike rate of 140 plus. Looking at her performance, the other members of the team will step up. She will have to justify the 3.40 crores that have been paid for her. She will be captaining the RCB team in WPL 2024.
2) Harmanpreet Kaur – Mumbai Indians
She had the perfect first season with the Mumbai Indians. She led the team to the title and the best part was that she was one of the leading run getters of the tournament. She scored 281 runs and was the second highest run getter for Mumbai Indians. She also hit 14 fours in the WPL. She would look to replicate the success of the first season in the second and get more than 350 runs for the Mumbai Indians. She will also look to get the first 100 of the WPL and make some more history. She will be captaining the Mumbai Indians team in WPL 2024
3) Shafali Verma – Delhi Capitals
At number 3 on this list is Shafali Verma from Delhi Capitals. She had a very good first season and she was one of the main reasons that Delhi reached the final of the first season. She made 252 runs and she hit 13 sixes which was the joint most in the first season. She had the best strike rate of 185.30 in the first season. She will look to bat at a similar strike rate and get over 300 Runs this time. She will be one of the senior players in the team and she will have to take responsibility along with the captain Meg Lanning. She will look to perform for Delhi Capitals in WPL 2024
4) Deepti Sharma – UP Warriorz
From the UP Warriorz there is one Indian Player that all the fans will have a keen eye on and that is Deepti Sharma. She has been one of the most important players for Team India over a number of years. She had a good first season where she took 9 wickets for the team. She also made over 100 runs. She will look to cross the 15 wickets mark and get over 150 runs for UP Warriorz. The UP Warriorz team in WPL 2024 have the best spin attack and she will have to complete Sophie Ecclestone.
5) Harleen Deol - Gujarat Giants
The 5th Indian player in this list is Harleen Deol from Gujarat Giants. She had a breakout first season and this is where she became a star in Indian cricket. She made 202 runs for the Gujarat Giants and she was excellent in the field as well taking some of the best catches in the tournament. She will look to be near the 300 runs mark and bat at a strike rate of 135+. Gujarat Giants in WPL 2024 need her to perform if they want to win the WPL. She has Laura Wolvaardt, Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardener in her team so she can play fearlessly.
