RCB is raring to go in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 following an intensive 10-day camp where the players bonded and sharpened their skills and head coach Luke Williams reckoned that captain Smriti Mandhana is also ready to lead from the front in their first match of the season at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.

“It’s been great to spend some time with Smriti over the last ten days. She is practicing well as she is in a confident and happy space with her cricket and the leadership. So, Smriti is excited about the season ahead,” Williams said while addressing a press conference ahead of RCB’s first match in Season 2 of WPL 2024.

He added, “Obviously there’s responsibility with captaining and opening the batting, but she’s got plenty of support from the team with lots of experienced senior players to help her and trying to separate the two roles. The captaincy is one part of it, but then at other times, it’s when she’s out there batting it is Smriti Mandhana the batter and trying to be the best batter for RCB she can be. Because if she’s able to do that, we know how much impact that she can provide for our team.”

Williams revealed that RCB had utilized their camp to not only work on specific skillsets and match simulations but also to do several activities together that have helped the team gel into a happy, cohesive unit.

He stated, “We’ve had a productive 10-day camp leading into the WPL. It was carefully planned and constructed both from a cricketing point of view, but also a culture and team point of view in terms of how we set that up. So, there’s certainly been a combination of different things, whether that’s been nets and fielding and skills training combined with some match simulations where players individually and as a team, getting to understand and learn and practice the particular roles that we think players will face in the tournament. We had one practice match, but as well as the cricket side of things, there’s been a lot of time spent with both planned and unplanned team activities.”

“Some interactions include having coffee with players and different team activities. It’s been wonderful to get to know the players a bit better and try to build that connection within our group and there’s that sense of belonging to the RCB tribe. We’re a diverse group of players. We represent RCB, but there are players from all across India and all across the world. So, the 10 days has been really important for us and we’re looking forward to our campaign starting tomorrow night,” added the head coach.

The team is also looking forward to playing their matches and showcasing their skills at home in front of the passionate 12th-man army of RCB.

“We’re looking forward to our first match. We’ve got five games at home and we know we’re going to have a passionate and loyal fan base behind us, so we’re excited. We focus on playing an exciting brand of cricket in front of the fans. You’re going to see a team that’s united and wants to compete,” concluded Williams.

RCB-W vs UPW-W Dream11 Team Prediction

Wicketkeeper: Alyssa Healy

Batters: Kiran Navgire, Grace Harris

All-rounders: Ellyse Perry, Tahila McGrath, Deepti Sharma

Bowlers: Renuka Singh Thakur, Georgia Wareham, Sophie Ecclestone

RCB-W vs UPW-W Probable XIs

RCB-W Probable XI: Smriti Mandhana (c), Sophie Devine, Disha Kasat, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Wareham, Richa Ghosh (wk), Kanika Ahuja, Shreyanka Patil, Kate Cross, Ekta Bisht, Renuka Singh Thakur.

UPW-W Probable XI: Alyssa Healy (c and wk), Vrinda Dinesh, Shweta Sehrawat, Kiran Navgire, Tahila McGrath, Grace Harris, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Anjali Sarvani, Parshavi Chopra.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Women: Smriti Mandhana (C), Asha Shobana, Disha Kasat, Ellyse Perry, Indrani Roy, Shradda Pokharkar, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Sophie Devine, Georgia Wareham, Kate Cross, Ekta Bisht, Shubha Satheesh, S Meghana, Simran Bahadur, Sophie Molineux, Nadine de Klerk.

UP Warriorz Women: Alyssa Healy (C), Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma, Grace Harris, Kiran Navgire, Laxmi Yadav, Parshavi Chopra, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, S Yashasri, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Danni Wyatt, Vrinda Dinesh, Poonam Khemnar, Saima Thakor, Gouher Sultana, Chamari Athapaththu.