Australia’s World Cup-winning captain Meg Lanning has been named the captain of Delhi Capitals for the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League, while Jemimah Rodrigues has been named her deputy.
The Capitals begins its campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore on March 5 and ahead of the tournament, Lanning admitted that the tournament is a massive moment for the sport.
“WPL is a massive moment for the sport. It’s the logical next step and makes a lot of sense. Cricket in India is people’s lives and the fact that WPL is up and running, and to be involved in something like this, is amazing. It’s only going to grow in the coming years,” she said during an event on Thursday.
While she believes that the team has got some ‘great depth in its squad’, the 30-year-old Lanning is looking forward to her time at the Delhi Capitals.
“It’s a very proud moment for me, firstly to be involved with Delhi Capitals and then to lead them. It’s about enjoying yourself, getting the best out of yourself.”
Fondly referred to as the ‘Megastar’, Lanning is arguably one of the most successful cricketers in the history of women’s cricket. The Australian captain has been part of as many as six World Cup-winning campaigns - four T20 World Cup titles and two ODI World Cup titles.
The seasoned campaigner, who has featured in 132 T20Is, amassing 3405 runs at an average of 36.61 and strike rate of 116.37, has led Australia in 100 T20Is - the most by any women’s player to captain a side in the format. She reached Mumbai on Thursday and caught up with all the players for a photo shoot.
With just a couple of days remaining for the tournament to begin, Lanning is relying on her deputy Jemimah and Shafali Verma to get to know the young Indian players better.
“Excited to work with Jemi. She is a very bright and vibrant character, with a lot of energy. She is obviously a great player and has good leadership qualities as well. I will certainly be relying on her to bring the squad together and get to know the players better,” the captain said.
This will be an opportunity for several uncapped Indian players to share the stage with the legends and Lanning agrees that communication will be the key. “That’s one of the challenges of being a leader in a tournament like this and getting the best out of everyone and not just the players who are playing international cricket, but also the young guns. I will lean on Jemi and Shafali and try to bring everything together. I don’t know everything, so they will help me to get things together,” Lanning said.
“It is obviously a great opportunity for young players to come around and play alongside their heroes like Jemi and Shafali. I can’t wait to get to know the players and work alongside them…”
“Everyone is different and everyone will bring something to the table. We have got a good blend of youth and experience, so the tricky part is to work all around that at a short span of time,” she said.
Lanning is the third Australian to lead a WPL side, after Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy.
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