With the second edition of the WPL 2024 set to begin on February 23, the Delhi Capitals skipper Meg Lanning has confirmed that Marizanne Kapp will be returning to action after missing a One-off Test against Australia due to illness.
Meg Lanning on Delhi’s opener match
The second season of the Women’s Premier League begins on Friday with Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals set to play in the inaugural match of WPL 2024 schedule.
Ahead of the clash, Delhi Capitals captain Meg Lanning opened on their preparations for the Women’s Premier League saying, “Our preparations have been great.
We had some time this year to get together as a squad, and there have also been some camps throughout the year, which has resulted in some really good improvements from everyone.”
“We have a full squad now. Annabel Sutherland arrived yesterday, so we got everyone in together. We’ve had some good training sessions and match simulations to give people in the middle a better idea of what their role might be,” Lanning explained.
All teams have set up a camp ahead of the league to give enough time for the players to prepare for the tournament.
While speaking in the pre-match conference, she also spoke about their first match and the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Mumbai team.
She acknowledged Mumbai as one of the strongest teams and was excited to play against the champions of the previous season.
It has been a very smooth transition into the squad, and everyone is excited to participate in the tournament again. I’m excited to start the tournament tomorrow night against Mumbai.”
“They’ve got some incredible players led by Harman and got some good depth as well. We expect some tough competition from them,” said Lanning.
She spoke about Annabel Sutherland who had been added to the Delhi Capitals squad as a new signing at the conference. “Annabel has matured on and off the pitch in the last year to become an extremely valuable member of any team on which she plays.”
She has serious power with the bat and can play multiple roles depending on the game situation. She will be in the middle of the lineup as he can come in and finish the innings.”
Meg Lanning also spoke about the return of Kapp who was absent in the South Africa squad for the one-off Test against Australia.
“She looks good. She trained yesterday and appears to be doing quite well. She’ll be here again tonight to train, and everything is going well. We expect her to be available to play tomorrow,” she stated.
On the other hand, Harmanpreet Kaur also spoke about their preparations ahead of the opening match of the tournament.
“We are not expecting too much from ourselves and are not trying to overdo things. We want to keep things simple and just relax, be in the moment, and continue doing the right things, as we did last year.
“We had a camp in Mumbai at our home ground, where we played practice games to try out new combinations and give everyone an equal chance,” she added.
Shabnim Ismail has been added to the Mumbai Indians squad to strengthen the bowling unit. Like Ismail’s inclusion, other franchises also made some changes in the squad.
“She is a great player and has done well for her country and whichever leagues she plays for. She brings in a lot of experience and is someone who can bowl at a good pace, and that’s what we have been looking for.”
“Last year, Issy Wong gave us a lot of balance, and now this year, we have another option in Shabnim. Her presence gives us that extra cushioning in bowling,” she said.
Harman also spoke about Amandeep Kaur who was added to the squad as a replacement saying, “I have not seen any other woman cricketer who bowls left-arm wrist spin. She is a good pick for us. You need variety in T20 cricket and sometimes the batters get used to your regular bowlers.
The inaugural match of the WPL 2024 is set to kickstart at 08:00 PM IST at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
