New Delhi, Feb 7, 2025-
Ahead of the start of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 season, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Smriti Mandhana said her team will focus on doing the basics right to retain their title.
“It isn’t just one team – the competition is great and growing. You saw the difference from the first to the second season, so I can’t pick one team to target. We all want to play good cricket and put on a great show for women’s cricket. This season, we’ll focus on doing the simplest things correctly and not think too far ahead,” Smriti said on Disney+ Hotstar’s Superstars: War of Words.
Last year’s runners-up, Delhi Capitals, are determined to go one step further this season. Jemimah Rodrigues emphasised the importance of preparation and adaptability in T20s.
“This is T20 cricket – anything can happen, and we can’t take any team lightly. The most important thing is to focus on what’s in our control: prepare well and execute well. No matter how badly I want to control the results, I can’t – so I’ll leave it in greater hands. But what I can assure you is that we’ll continue playing great cricket.”
Inaugural season champions, Mumbai Indians, will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur, who hopes to bring the title back to a city synonymous with franchise cricket success. “As cricketers, our main focus is to play good cricket and help the team win. A lot happens off the field – we’re all fans of certain teams, and when they play, we feel a certain way. But when you’re in the centre, none of that matters. It’s just about helping the team fight till the end and win the trophy.”
“We don’t want to do anything extra or special, but staying in the moment will help us. In the first season, we did a lot of things right. The second season was challenging. This time, we’ll try to remember the moments from our championship-winning season and play the same brand of cricket,” Harmanpreet added.
UP Warriorz will look to make their first-ever final appearance, and Deepti Sharma believes home support will play a crucial role in their campaign.
“It’s a big thing for us to have a home crowd—it’ll give us a lot of support. We’ve never reached the Final, so we’ll try to cross that stage this time,” she said.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Giants will be eager to make an impact, with Harleen Deol excited about playing in familiar conditions. “It’s going to be home conditions for us as well. Last time, we played in Bengaluru, so this will be great.”
The WPL 2025 will kick-start with the clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarats Giants in Vadodara on February 14.(Agency)
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