Gujarat Giants’ priority was buying players who would fit the setup: Mithali Raj

Mithali Raj - former India captain and the mentor of Gujarat Giants - said the chosen players were bought after the franchise was clear about their roles in the setup.

Gujarst Giants mentor and former India captain, Mithali Raj. | Photo Credit: Sportzpics for BCCI

Coming into the mini-auction of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), the Gujarat Giants had released half of its squad after a forgettable outing in the first season.

But when the auction started on Saturday, the Adani Sportsline-owned franchise made the most of its big purse and made quite a few big buys.

It spent Rs 2 crore on uncapped Indian fast bowler Kashvee Gautam, making her the joint-highest buy in this edition of the auction. 

Mithali Raj - former India captain and the mentor of Gujarat Giants - said the chosen players were bought after the franchise was clear about their roles in the setup.

In a chat with  Sportstar, Mithali shares her thoughts on how youngsters like Kashvee should be handled in the ever-evolving world of franchise cricket and explains the importance of playing Test cricket. 

What was the planning leading up to the mini-auction?

I would say that we were gunning for a pace-bowling all-rounder, but there were not too many options in that category. So clearly, one would go for a fast bowler. Yes, we also knew that there would be a little competition, in fact, more competition in the category of seamers. 

But we knew the slots we needed to pick, and we were very clear on that. 

We had quite a bit of options, so we knew what our first preference [would be] and then if we had the purse and the slots, we would go for the other players [and] the other options.

The franchise roped in uncapped Kashvee Gautam for a whopping Rs 2 crore, making her the joint-most expensive Indian buy in the auction. How does the franchise plan to ensure that youngsters like Kasvee don’t get carried away with such money and attention?

I don’t think they would get carried away. It would be a lot more pressure for them because they’ve sold for such a high price, and they know the franchise’s expectations of them because of the price. 

I think that is where the challenge is as a management to give them confidence. When it comes to the uncapped players, they may not necessarily be your match winners, but they play an important supporting role, which is what is expected of them. 

Kashvee Gautam was bought for Rs 2 crore, making her the joint-most expensive Indian buy in the auction.  | Photo Credit: Kashvee Gautam@Instagram

Yes, sometimes, you can never get it all right in the auction, nobody does. 

Yes, we have an uncapped player for Rs 2 crore (Kashvee). 

But again, I think she (Kashvee) is someone who has an opportunity to get into the Indian team. We also are looking forward to two more seasons and not just restricted to this season. Otherwise, we would have gone for an experienced player. But we don’t want to find ourselves in a position where we need to release an experienced player again next season. We need to have some players who are young but not very inexperienced. 

They have done well in the U-19 World Cup, for India A or in the domestic, so they have some form along with experience. The roles might be a bit different in the WPL. It’s important to get that sort of performance from them.

How much of an advantage does the franchise have in terms of finding newer talents with Nooshin Al Khadeer around since she works closely with the U-19, India A and domestic teams? If you could take us through the scouting process...

We have two to three people more in our system to scout for the U-16 or U-19 or India A and domestic talents. But again, how well you identify a potential player and where they fit in the composition of your 11 or 15, would be the priority of the franchise. 

It is about finalising the 11 and then the 15. 

I feel very sad for someone like Chamari Athapaththu, who has been in really good form, but since the requirements of the franchises are different, she has gone unsold. 

So again, identifying talent is one thing, but where they fit into the role in the composition of your team is a priority.

There’s no official word on the venue, even though BCCI secretary Jay Shah said that the tournament will be played in one state. With no clarity on the venue, how challenging does it get for the teams to make their choices in the auction?

I would say if it’s on a spinning track, then every team would be smiling because all of them are stacked up with spinners. Now the question is, on a batting track, how good are your spinners? How good are your uncapped spinners? It depends on that. 

But I would say more than anything it is in leagues like this, you would like to see a high-scoring game and big scored being chased. So, it is more of a batting side and a batting performance that every franchise is looking at, and that’s why we stack up. 

I’m sure all the franchises are heavy on the top. So that’s a reflection. 

After two years, India will be playing two Test matches in the next couple of weeks. As a former India captain, how do you see this development?

When you have so many games at regular intervals in a calendar year, it is good to have a Test match. 

But then, if you’re having a Test match, it should never be a one-off Test because then it gets very difficult for the current lot to learn about the format, how the format is played and change the strategy or the skill according to that. It gets difficult for them to add a bit of dimension or work on the variation because it takes time. 

So, if they’re looking at having Test matches, then they should have at least some two-day or three-day games in the domestic setup. So, that helps them to be a little more aware of the format. 

Otherwise, I think the current lot has played more T20, followed by ODIs and Tests. That’s how it has been. It’s prioritised that way. 

But then, from the player’s perspective, everyone knows the weight of a Test cap. A Test cap is a Test cap. So, in that sense, I’m sure all of us are very happy to play Test cricket.