A two-week-long battlefield involving world’s best teams concluded on Sunday, with six-time champions Australia crushing a resilient South African side by 19 runs at Newlands Cricket Ground. Be it scintillating maximums, unrivalled bowling depth, or effortless fielding, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup was definitely one to savour. As India gears up to witness the high-octane action and a series of nerve-wracking encounters at the Women’s Premier League 2023 starting Saturday, the T20 cricket enigma has seemed to only get the better of us. As things stood out at the recently-held auction, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) broke the bank for India vice-captain and batting mainstay Smriti Mandhana, who became the most expensive player in the history of WPL. The franchise shelled out a mammoth INR 3.4 crore for Mandhana, who had a base reserve price of INR 50 lakh. (Pic Courtesy: AP/Getty/AFP)
Updated On: 2023-02-27 08:13 PM IST
Suzie Bates needs no introduction. The lanky opener is the leading run-scorer in T20 Internationals, having amassed 3,820 runs with a blistering ton and 25 half-centuries in 143 matches at a strike rate of 109.70. Back in 2006, the veteran New Zealander broke into international cricket and also became an important figure in the national squad.
Tazmin Brits' exclusion from the upcoming WPL season is probably one of the biggest surprises to come out from the auction given her fiery form in the Women’s T20 World Cup. In the colossal T20 tournament, she has amassed 176 runs so far with two fifties from five matches at a strike rate of 108.64. Currently, she is also the second-highest run-getter in the tournament after England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt.
Young batswoman Laura Wolvaardt has had the most pivotal role to play in South Africa’s road to the World Cup final. She has to date accumulated 169 runs in five innings at an impressive strike rate of 100.69. These jaw-dropping stats aren’t enough for she also finished as the fourth-highest run-scorer in the big-ticket tournament. Wolvaardt also notched up a fine half-century against England in the semi-final match to steer her side to a commanding win.
Another New Zealand who cannot go off the list is Lea Tahuhu, widely acclaimed for her unmatchable medium-fast bowling skills. She kicked off her T20I career in 2011 and went on to become an integral member of the team thanks to her unrivalled bowling depth. She was featured in the ICC Women’s T20 Team of the Year in December, 2017.
Ayabonga Khaka has scalped 47 wickets for South Africa in 49 matches at an impressive economy of 6.28 in T20Is. Khaka could not find any bids despite being the profile of a player who was in demand in the auction. Her exclusion comes as a surprise as she is the quintessential T20 player. She is an athletic bowler who takes brilliant catches and is also handy with the bat in the lower order. She finished as the highest wicket-taker for her side, having scalped seven wickets in four matches at an economy of 5.33.
