NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals coach Jonathan Batty on Tuesday refrained from naming a single player as the team’s trump card ahead of the Women’s Premier League Season 3, emphasising that every member of the squad is a game-changer. Delhi Capitals reached the WPL finals in both previous editions but fell just short of the title, losing on both occasions.
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Addressing the media in a virtual press conference ahead of the WPL, which begins on February 14 with an exciting clash between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women and Gujarat Giants Women, Batty said: “I can’t really pick one or two players out.”
“We have a solid team and have match winners. Each one of the players on the field can win the game for us and at any point of time. Shafali Varma has been amazing and has played good knocks alongside Lanning. I am really looking forward to another stellar season from her. We have a solid batter and then allrounders in the team and have a lower order who can bat too,” Batty said while speaking to TimesofIndia.com.
Delhi Capitals’ skipper Meg Lanning, who was also present in the virtual press conference, expressed hope that India’s explosive opener Shafali Varma would carry her superb form into the third season of the Women’s Premier League.
Shafali recently delivered outstanding performances for Haryana in domestic matches, signaling a return to her run-scoring ways. She emerged as the top run-getter in the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy, amassing 527 runs at an average of 75.29. In the Senior Women’s One Day Challenger Trophy, she further impressed, scoring 414 runs at an average of 82.80 while maintaining a strike rate close to 150.
“She looks like she’s in really good touch and enjoying herself and having fun too, which I think is really important. For me, just watching her play with freedom, expressing herself, (and) when she does that, that plays a really important role for our team,” Lanning said.
“She did a very similar thing a few days ago in our practice game. She often puts on a very entertaining show and I’ve got the best seat in the house. I always enjoy batting with her. We get on really well and hopefully this season can continue on from where we have been the first two,” Lanning added.
‘I ALWAYS ENJOY PLAYING IN INDIA’
Lanning said that her previous experience of playing in India would be beneficial in the WPL.
“I always enjoy playing and batting over here in India. I’ve had some success in the past. And yeah, so far with the couple of days I’ve been here, it’s been nice to just get used to the conditions and just be really clear on what my plan is and how I want to go about it,” she said.
WPL will be played across four venues – Vadodara, Bengaluru, Lucknow and Mumbai – for the first time and Lanning said she will miss playing in front of the Delhi crowd.
“There’s no doubt we love playing in front of our home fans in Delhi. It’s unfortunate that we don’t get to do that this year. But I think anywhere that we’ve gone so far with WPL, there’s been excellent crowds and a great atmosphere.
“We just try and embrace that and enjoy that and really just sort of take that in our stride. It (not playing at home venue) hasn’t been something that we’ve talked about too much at all) or that will worry us. I think we’re happy to play wherever we need to,” she said.