Image Credit- ICC
Thirty places are up for grabs among the Indian
players, with 21 on the waiting list for the five franchises that will
participate in the WPL auction on Saturday. Below is a summary of some of the
best uncapped Indian players who teams have been watching closely and may
consider bidding for.
Vrinda Dinesh
Over the previous two seasons, Vrinda has scored a lot
of goals for Karnataka and received praise for her ability to combine
consistency with strong offensive strength. Having recently been a member of
the team that played three home games against England A, she has already made
her way up through the ranks of India A at the age of 22.
Meg Lanning is Vrinda’s idol, and she’s been to
off-season trials held by all five WPL teams. She was instrumental in helping
Karnataka go to the Senior Women’s One-Day Competition final earlier this year.
With 477 runs in 11 innings at 47.70, she finished as the third-highest run
scorer, behind Jasia Akter and Priya Punia. Against Rajasthan in the
semi-final, this included 81.
Uma Chetry
Chetry, a wicketkeeper-batter who can race out of the
gates in the powerplay, has offered scouts a preview of what to look forward to
in the recently finished A series between England and India. In the second and
third T20s, Chetry made two quickfire 20s in addition to his fine glove work.
Chetry made history earlier this year when he became
the first player, male or female, from Assam to be called up to the Indian
squad (for the Bangladesh tour). She also competed for India at the September
Asian Games, where they defeated Sri Lanka to take home the gold medal in
Hangzhou. Chetry is already setting new
standards for people in her state, and being called up to the WPL might help
her rise much higher.
Kashvee Gautam
Kashvee is a right-arm seamer who can strike the long
ball. In 2020, she made history for Chandigarh women’s domestic Under-19 league
when she took ten wickets, including a hat-trick, in a one-day match against
Arunachal Pradesh. As a result, one of the teams in the Women’s T20 Challenge
was called up. Her achievements have kept her on many scouts’ radars.
Tall hit-the-deck bowler Kashvee has worked to quicken
her pace in response to scout feedback following her unsold performance at the
WPL auction last year. In the past few games of the A series, she participated
and took three wickets for India A.
Mannat Kashyap
Though it’s unlikely that Kashyap would have seen
herself in the spotlight after running out a batsman who was backing up too
much at the non-striker’s end during India Under-19’s match against South
Africa Under-19 last year, her cricket acumen goes beyond that.
Scouts describe Kashyap as a cunning left-arm spinner
who may even be old-school. She has fought her way into India’s T20I team for
the current England series, and she is now riding a huge wave of confidence.
Kashyap was a member of the Indian team that won the
February Under-19 World Cup. After Parshavi Chopra, she had the second-most
wickets for India in six games overall with nine.
Gautami Naik
Naik began her career as a bowling all-rounder, but
her aggressive style of play has made her a powerful player at the top of the
order, creating a deadly partnership with Yastika Bhatia for Baroda. Naik is a
good option because she can contribute with some useful offspin in addition to
being a floater in the batting order. With 264 runs at a strike rate of 132.66
in five innings, she finished fifth in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy run
scoring. Naik competed in domestic circuit matches for Nagaland before relocating
to Baroda.