Coaching Staff
Head Coach - Rachael Haynes
Batting Coach - Tushar Arothe
Bowling Coach - Nooshin Al Khadeer
Fielding Coach - Gavan Twining
Mentor - Mithali Raj
Captain - Beth Mooney
Vice Captain - Sneh Rana
SQUAD with Auction Price
Players - Amount (in Lakhs)
Ashleigh Gardner - 320
Beth Mooney - 200
Sophia Dunkley - 60
Annabel Sutherland - 70
Harleen Deol - 40
Deandra Dottin - 60
Sneh Rana - 75
Sabbineni Meghana - 30
Georgia Wareham - 75
Mansi Joshi - 30
Dayalan Hemalatha - 30
Monica Patel - 30
Tanuja Kanwar - 50
Sushma Verma - 60
Hurley Gala - 10
Ashwani Kumari - 35
Parunika Sisodia - 10
Shabnim Shakeel - 10
Having appointed an impressive coaching staff, Gujarat Giants were expected to assemble an outstanding squad. Subsequently, they picked up some prolific overseas players such as Beth Mooney, Ash Gardner, Annabel Sutherland & Deandra Dottin. They have bagged in plenty of young uncapped players too. Their trust in young talent shows how the trio Haynes - Mithali - Nooshin impacted the auction. But, did this trio successfully created a squad that can lift the historic WPL trophy?
Let's have a look at their squad Player by Player :
1. Beth Mooney - LHB, WK
The consistent run scorer Australian batter Beth Mooney has been announced as the captain of Gujarat Giants. Despite playing 83 T20I matches, Mooney has no experience of captaincy at such big stage.
However, she is a prolific batter with average above 40 in T20Is. Her batting average goes above 48 while batting on Indian pitches. She has scored 154 runs in 7 innings at Brabourne Stadium & 171 runs in 2 innings at DY Patil Stadium.
2. Ashleigh Gardner - RHB, RAO
The 1st Ranked T20I All Rounder, Player of the Tournament in recently concluded T20 World Cup is going to be a great asset for Giants. Her power hitting ability & spin bowling capability will provide a great balance to the Giants squad. She averages 28 with the bat in T20Is & has picked 53 wickets bowling in 61 T20I matches.
In Indian conditions, she averages 34 with the bat scoring 208 in 7 innings & picked up 13 wickets as well.
3. Sophia Dunkley - RHB
The English emerging star Sophia Dunkley is technically sounded batter who can even play big hits. She used to be a consistent middle order batter in England domestic circle but is now opening for the national team. Opening for England, her strike rate has gone up but she has lost her consistency.
4. Annabel Sutherland - RHB, RAM
An impressive all rounder from Australia who doesn't get proper opportunities in Australian Team. But, has shown her utility both with the bat & ball in Women's Big Bash League. She averages above 19 with the bat in WBBL and has picked up 59 wickets in 68 innings in the league .
5. Deandra Dottin - RHB, RAM
The top class Caribbean All Rounder retired from West Indies team last year due to some controversies but proved her worth in WBBL played in October - November last year. She was Player of the Match in the final & won the trophy for her team Adelaide Strikers. She scored 364 runs with the average of 27.84 in the season and picked up 14 wickets too.
She brings huge T20 experience for the Giants & will be a great worth for the team.
6. Georgia Wareham - RHB, Legbreak
The Aussie Legbreak Bowler made comeback to the Australian team this World Cup after a long period of time. She did not disappoint the selectors and bowled pretty well in the World Cup. She picked 6 wickets in 5 innings in the tournament. She adds value down the order with the bat as well.
7. Sneh Rana - RHB, RAO
The under-rated All Rounder known for breaking partnerships & hitting big hits down the order. She is one among only 3 Indian bowlers in top 15 of the ICC T20I Rankings still finds difficult to be named in the national squad. However, the domestic circle knows her worth where she captains India D, bowls crucial overs & bats in the lower middle order.
8. Harleen Deol - RHB, Legbreak
The legspin all rounder from Himachal bats in top order & has utility with the bowl as well. Known for her outstanding fielding skills, will be great asset in the field for Giants. Harleen has not bowled much recently and will be interesting how Giants management uses her abilities.
9. Sabbineni Meghana - RHB, RAM
Top order batter from Andhra, has played for Trailblazers in the Women's T20 Challenge Trophy. She made her debut for India last year. Her form hasn't been promising but is a consistent opening batter. She was highest run scorer in Women's Senior One Day Trophy, 2021-22 with 388 runs at an average above 64.
10. Dayalan Hemalatha - RHB, RAO
Another Spin All Rounder represents Tamilnadu in domestics. She too made her debut last year. She bats in middle/lower middle order & has good power hitting game. Her off breaks too will be crucial for the Giants.
11. Sushma Verma - RHB, WK
Indian experienced capped Wicket Keeper known for her wicket keeping skills & batting in middle order. Her form with the bat is not that good but Giants will hope some decent performance from her.
12. Mansi Joshi - RHB, RAM
An experienced Medium Pace Bowler who represents Haryana in domestics. She has played for India as well & bowls at a decent pace.
13. Monica Patel - LHB, LAM
Another decent pacer from domestic circle, represents Karnataka. Being left arm pacer, She brings variety in the Giants pace attack.
14. Hurley Gala - RHB, RAM
An impressive emerging medium pace All Rounder for Mumbai. Bowls sheer pace at the age of 16 only. She is known for striking big hits with the bat as well. She was part of India's U19 World Cup squad but got ruled out due to injury. She has great capabilities & can be a trump pick for Giants in future if groomed well.
15. Ashwani Kumari - RHB
Decent middle order batter in domestics, plays for India D.
She has a quite good average of 41 with the bat in local cricket.
16. Tanuja Kanwar - LHB, LAO
A wicket taking Left arm spinner from Himachal. She has played for both India A & India B. She picked up 18 wickets in 11 matches in the Women's Senior One Day Trophy 2022-23.
17. Parunika Sisodia - RHB, LAO
A well known Delhi based left Arm Spinner. She was 5th highest wicket taker in Women's Senior One Day Trophy, 2021/22 where she had picked 14 wickets in just 7 innings striking at 24.2.
Recent Form - 1w, 1w, 0w, 3w, 3w, 5w
18. Shabnam Shakil - RHB, RAM
An impressive medium pacer who represented India in U19 World Cup where she picked 2 wickets in 3 matches.
Have a look at her recent performance with the bowl.
Recent Form - 1w, 0w, 1w, 1w, 3w, 1w, 2w, 0w
STRENGTH
Balance & Quality in Batting Order with sheer Depth
Gujrat Giants batting order looks quite balanced with the run machine Beth Mooney to open the innings with Meghana or Dunkley. Harleen might hold the innings at 3 with her strike rotating skills. Dottin, Gardner & Sutherland should be no. 4, 5 & 6, who are true giants for bowlers at these positions. Moving on to lower order Gala, Rana & Hemalatha too possess six hitting capabilities.
Long Term Investment in Young Talent
The coaching staff that Giants have appointed includes Mithali, Haynes & Nooshin Al Khadeer. Mithali is well known for on field instincts & Nooshin Al Khadeer has coached many domestic sides & bring lots of experience and is well known of domestic player capabilities. The auction picks shows their direct impact. They have picked many domestic stars which have potential to rule women's cricket. The pace all rounder Hurley Gala, spin all rounder Tanuja Kanwar, the pace sensation Shabnam Shakil and the wicket taking Left Arm Spinner Parunika Sisodia all have impressed with their performance in domestics. These might be the future stars & appear in the Blue Jersey.
This shows the long term investment strategy & in the upcoming seasons of WPL, the Gujrat Giants might appear as one of the best franchises of the league.
WEAKNESS
In-experienced Pace Attack + New Ball Bowling Concern
The Giants have bagged in 2 classy overseas pace all rounders - Deandra Dottin & Annabel Sutherland. Both of them bring huge T20 experience, specially Dottin. But, the 3rd pacer might be a concern for the team as the other pace options are Indian uncapped Domestic bowlers like Hurley Gala, Shabnam Shakil, Monica Patel and else. They surely have potential & capabilities, but they are yet to be groomed to perform against the world class batters.
Also, Sutherland and Dottin are similar bowlers who hit the deck in middle overs & bowl in death overs. But, who will take new bowl for the Giants might be a challenge for the team. They have Gardner who can bowl spin in powerplay from one end but what if the conditions require pace & swing to start. Also, if one of Sutherland & Dottin takes responsibility with the new ball, they might face issues in death overs as neither of their spinners bowl ni death overs.
Lack of Variety in Spin Department
The Giants spin department will be led by vice captain Sneh Rana & Aussie All Rounder Ash Gardner. They have Dayalan Hemalatha to assist these two. But, all these 3 are off spinners. This one - dimensional spin bowling will create issues for them against the sides with heavy right handed batters. They do have left arm spinners in the name of Tanuja Kanwar & Parunika Sisodia but they are very in-experienced. They also have a world class leggie Georgia Wareham. But, their 4 overseas quota is already covered with Mooney, Ash, Dottin & Sutherland.
Probable XI
The Giants batting will be led by Captain Mooney with Meghana or Dunkley. Mostly, it should be Meghana in order to keep Sutherland & Dottin in the XI. Harleen might come at 3 with Dottin, Gardner & Sutherland at 4, 5 & 6. Sushma Verma is quite obvious choice with her wicket keeping skills. The vice captain Sneh Rana to come next with Gala & Hemalatha to support her with their lower order hitting + bowling skills. The last spot is toss up between Tanuja & Parunika. Georgia Wareham is a tempting choice too, but bringing her in means one of Dottin & Sutherland to miss out which is unlikely keeping their in-experienced pace attack in mind.
Beth Mooney ✈️
Sabbineni Meghana
Harleen Deol
Deandra Dottin ✈️
Ashleigh Gardner ✈️
Annabel Sutherland ✈️
Sushma Verma
Dayalan Hemalatha
Sneh Rana
Hurley Gala
Tanuja Kanwar/ Parunika Sisodia
EXPECTATIONS
The Giants have assembled a squad mix of couple of world class spin all rounders - Gardner & Sneh Rana and as much pace all rounders - Sutherland & Dottin. In batting too, they have experienced Mooney to be assisted by Meghana & Harleen. Their squad is clearly amalgam of youth & experienced players. Their batting looks quite sorted & have a decent spin attack but lack variety, experience & specialisation. Their pace attack too lacks experience.
Eventually, the youth talent they have invested in will be the deciding factor how close to the trophy they go. But, in the upcoming seasons, they might develop as a very strong side under the guidance of Mithali, Haynes & Nooshin Al Khadeer.
