A new challenge awaits Smriti Mandhana when she leads Royal Challengers Bangalore in its Women’s Premier League opener against Delhi Capitals at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday.
Despite having past experience of leading teams - at the national and international level - this will be a big opportunity for Smriti to stamp her class, and the seasoned campaigner is looking forward to it.
Having risen through the ranks, Smriti understands the importance of grooming youngsters and ensuring they don’t feel overawed amid superstars. That’s the reason she’s having regular conversations with the uncapped Indian players.
“It’s very important as a leader to reach out to your domestic players because for sure, it’s the first time for them. They are seeing overseas talents and also the Indian players who are part of the national team for the first time. Everything is new. I want to make sure that I don’t make them feel that I already play for India. I have normal conversations with them and it takes just two minutes for them to start conversations. I did that in the last practice session and the girls felt comfortable,” Smriti said on Saturday.
The WPL being a long tournament, communication will be the key and Smriti has had conversations with the overseas players too, so that they have a role-clarity .And, when the team takes on Delhi Capitals, Smriti would hope that her efforts pay off.
Smriti, who was roped in for a whopping Rs 3.4 crore by RCB, but, does not want to think much about the price tag. “RCB’s men’s team has an amazing legacy,” Smriti said. “I am happy to lead this wonderful team.”
On paper, Delhi Capitals has a slight edge over its opponents as it has a strong and formidable Indian talent pool, comprising Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Taniya Bhatia, and Radha Yadav among others. The uncapped Titas Sadhu and Jasia Akhtar also add value to the side, which has a strong overseas presence, with Meg Lanning as the captain.
Though the focus will be on the four overseas players - Lanning, Jess Jonasen, Marizanne Kapp and Alice Capsey - a lot will depend on how the Indian players handle the pressure. “I have had a few chats with the players and I’m just getting to know their strengths, what they like to do and how they think about things,” Lanning was quoted as saying in a team statement.
Lastly, with the temperatures soaring, it will also be a challenge for both teams to tackle the conditions at Brabourne Stadium in the first day-fixture of the tournament.
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