WPL 2025: Time ripe for India’s fast bowlers to take centre stage in the tournament
New Delhi, Feb 14 (IANS) During the first leg of the 2024 Women’s Premier League (WPL) in Bengaluru, India head coach Amol Muzumdar had said during a guest commentary stint the national set-up was trying to build a pool of fast bowlers from the five-team tournament.
The widening of the fast bowling pool in Indian women’s cricket is something which former head coach Ramesh Powar stressed in July 2021. But so far from the two seasons of the WPL, the players who have gone on to play for India are mostly spinners. If one sees the 2024 season, then five spinners have reached double-wicket figures – Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav and Tanuja Kanwer.
But when it comes to overall double wicket figures from that very season, there’s no Indian fast-bowler, with Shikha Pandey being the standout via nine scalps. Shikha also was the only Indian fast-bowler to reach overall double-wicket figures in WPL 2023 – 10 scalps, with left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque being the other one in that club with 15 wickets.
India has predominantly been a spin-friendly land, resulting in spinners getting more wickets and getting to play more women’s matches. But despite India producing a fast-bowling stalwart in Jhulan Goswami and Renuka Singh Thakur plus Pooja Vastrakar (currently injured) being regular fixtures, the fast bowler’s pool hasn’t seen much proliferation.
In that case, WPL 2025 could turn out to be a great platform for them to prove that they are as important as spinners in the Indian team. Delhi Capitals (DC) has Arundhati Reddy (who was left out of the whole home season despite taking a four-fer in the Perth ODI against Australia), Shikha Pandey (who hasn’t played for India after the 2023 T20 World Cup), and Titas Sadhu.
Gujarat Giants (GG) have Sayali Satghare, who made her ODI debut against Ireland in January, as well as Shabnam Shakil, Meghna Singh and all-rounder Kashvee Gautam. Mumbai Indians (MI) have fast-bowling Indian all-rounders in Jintimani Kalita, Akshita Maheshwari and Amanjot Kaur.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have Renuka, Joshitha VJ, while UP Warriorz (UPW) have Saima Thakor, Anjali Sarvani, and Kranti Goud in their ranks. “To be very honest, yes, in India women’s cricket, fast bowlers are not a thing, whether it’s under 19 or senior levels. We are a very spin-oriented country, so if the fast bowlers desire to make a mark, it’s exclusively happening only at the WPL level.
“If one has to look at it, how many fast bowlers have gotten to bowl their full quota and how much they have bowled in the middle overs – very less, as there are mostly spinners bowling there. Only Arundhati Reddy has actually bowled a lot in the middle overs from the fast bowlers, as Delhi Capitals has and will use her brilliantly in that slot.
“For WPL 2025, the fast bowling contingent is looking good and they are actually bowling quick. Someone like Joshitha and Kranti Goud is there, plus Akshita Maheshwari whose bowling action is so smooth and is a good in-swing bowler, whose effectiveness of course, we will have to see when it comes to the old ball.
“There is a pool of players who are looking good, but whether that is going to help the Indian context, I mean, we will have to see, as a lot more work needs to be done to establish a lot more faith in the mainstream Indian team about the use of the fast bowlers, whereas in the WPL, I think it is a little more reassuring for them,” said Aarti Sankaran, a BCCI-certified Level 3 coach, to IANS from Chennai.
There have been dedicated camps at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) for women fast bowlers in Bengaluru, and the observation from there has been that the pool in this aspect has looked better than it was 18 months ago, especially with the younger crop of pacers being bright.
“Titas is the smartest of the lot, and is very sharp. She got the stress fracture at the wrong time. But she’s made her way past that. So if you are Amol Muzumdar, you’re happy. You have Renuka, Saima, Saili, and someone like Shabnam is developing.
“In U19, you also have four to five interesting fast bowlers. So it’s a good problem to have, but will it help us win a World Cup? Well, time will tell. Apart from them, you have Kashvee Gautam, Jintimani Kalita, Meghna Singh, and though Yashasri (who was with UP Warriorz previously) is not there this time, she will come back.
“Pooja, meanwhile, will be back in three-four months. So, the fast bowling resources are looking far better than say 18 months back. You have options now there. You’re not reliant and can’t be left wondering that if Renuka doesn’t play, then what will happen. People like Anjali Sarvani came and then went away. But these young fast bowlers are good and are athletic too,” said a source tracking the developments to IANS.
With people like Joshitha and Shabnam in the WPL, as well as Mithila Vinod (she didn’t get a WPL deal), emerging as dependable fast-bowling options from this year’s U19 Women’s T20 World Cup winning team, there is hope that they can sustain themselves for long to graduate to the senior level.
“Shabnam has developed the skill where she could bowl overs 1 and 3 and 18 and 20, which is very tough. But now she is confident in her wide yorkers and back-of-the-hand slower balls. Someone like Mithila Vinod will bowl the hard overs and will deliver in death overs. She never bowls in the easy stages.
“Plus, she is a brilliant finisher who bats at number six and is a great fielder too. People will say, what did she do in the World Cup? Well, she got a ten-ball 16 against Sri Lanka, which meant India got 25 runs extra in the last two overs, which made an under-par score be at-par total,” added the source.
With India set to play the home ODI World Cup later this year and a T20 World Cup next year in England, onlookers would wish that WPL 2025 is the right time for India’s fast bowlers to take centre stage and prove that they can be as reliable as spinners to make the team win games.
–IANS
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