WPL 2023 TEAM GUIDE: Delhi Capitals, led by Australian World Cup winner Meg Lanning, have strength in depth across their ranks. NICK FRIEND takes a look at their chances of success in this year's Women's Premier League
Captain: Meg Lanning
Coach: Jonathan Batty
Headliners
Meg Lanning: The all-conquering captain of Australia, the best team in the world, and perhaps also the greatest batter in the game. Back after a break from the sport, she was a steal at £110,000.
Marizanne Kapp: A Jonathan Batty stalwart at Oval Invincibles, where the pair have twice won The Hundred, the South African is a world-class allrounder and an unrivalled competitor. Delhi kept much of their purse up their sleeve to tie her down.
Jemimah Rodrigues: The most expensive signing in Capitals' squad but a local batter to build their team around; her T20 World Cup semi-final knock against Australia was a reminder of her ability to manoeuvre the ball all around the ground.
Delhi Capitals captains Meg Lanning prior to the 2023 WPL season [Indranil Mukherjee/AFP via Getty Images]
One to watch
Laura Harris is an uncapped Australian and one of the biggest hitters in the women's game; how much gametime she sees will be interesting, but she has game-changing potential. Also watch out for Tara Norris, the England-based USA international, who was the only associate player picked up and therefore can play as a fifth overseas.
Why they'll win the WPL
No team came out of the auction better placed: you could argue that they have all bases covered, including a match-winning hitter at the top in Shafali Verma, a stacked middle order in Lanning, Marizanne Kapp and Alice Capsey, high-pedigree spin in Jess Jonassen and Radha Yadav, and Indian pacer in Shikha Pandey and arguably the best hands in the women's game in the shape of Taniya Bhatia, who could bat as low as No.10.
The signing of Norris gives a left-arm seam option, while Harris – unlikely to start in the playing XI – could win a game inside five overs. Then there is Batty, who is the only coach to have won the women's Hundred, having done so twice with Oval Invincibles.
He was thrilled with his franchise's auction work; they are the only side who can pick an entire team with international experience.
Delhi Capitals players at a press event prior to the 2023 WPL season [Indranil Mukherjee/AFP via Getty Images]
Why they won't win the WPL
The opening combination will be interesting, with Verma likely to have one of Lanning or Sneha Deepthi alongside her. Lanning has done much of her best work in the middle order, while Deepthi made her three international appearances as a 16-year-old in 2013 against Bangladesh so doesn't necessarily have the big-game record of some of her teammates.
Getting that batting line-up in order might just be Batty's biggest challenge, though his prior work with Capsey, Kapp and Rodrigues means that he knows what makes them tick and where they are best placed. They might also be a quality seamer short, with a fair bit riding on Kapp and Pandey, with Norris and Arundhati Reddy also international cricketers.
Squad: Jemimah Rodrigues, Meg Lanning, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Marizanne Kapp, Titas Sadhu, Alice Capsey, Tara Norris, Laura Harris, Jasia Akhter, Minnu Man, Taniya Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Jess Jonassen, Sneha Deepthi, Arundhati Reddy, Aparna Mandal
Likely line-up: Verma, Lanning, Rodrigues, Capsey, Kapp, Deepthi, Jonassen, Pandey, Norris, Bhatia, Yadav
Fixtures: March 5 – Royal Challengers Bangalore, March 7 – UP Warriorz, March 9 – Mumbai Indians, March 11 – Gujarat Giants, March 13 – Royal Challengers Bangalore, March 16 – Gujarat Giants, March 20 – Mumbai Indians, March 21 – UP Warriorz
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