Meg Lanning’s Legacy In WPL Beyond Only Numbers

Meg Lanning, who has won many ICC accolades with her Australian invincible side, has lost three consecutive WPL finals in three years. The latest being the defeat against Mumbai Indians by 8 runs. For the third time in a row, Meg Lanning has to return empty handed form the Final, a sight which is very rare in her career.

However, Legacy of Meg Lanning in the Delhi side or WPL per se is beyond only numbers or how many trophies she has won for the side. Rather the role she has played in shaping the Indian players becomes another aspect of her legacy.

Over the years, Meg Lanning has learnt one thing and as she said in one of her interviews with CricketMonthly, that was she is not good at everything so she needs to trust other people’s strengths.  In one of the post-match interviews, another Aussie legend, Jess Jonassen, said, “Meg Lanning has the ability to make you feel bigger than you are. She gives you so much confidence and truly believes in you.”

Besides becoming the best batter, Lanning always wanted to be remembered as someone who inspired others and someone whom people loved to play along with. She is always in a constant effort to build a relationship with her teammates and get the best out of them.

In the same interview in CricketMonthly in 2020, Lanning expressed that despite being a guarded person, lately, she has been more willing to show her emotion a little bit and that in turn has helped her to build relationships with her teammates, transcending the barrier of captain’s tag.

That was evident in the Delhi Capitals’ environment. Let’s take Shafali Verma, for instance. The hard-hitting Indian opener seems to have found a perfect partner in Meg Lanning. Verma, who used to suffer from inconsistency, learnt from Lanning how to convert her small innings into big innings. She knows that she can’t do things right on bad days, but on the good days, she needs to play longer innings. Both of them share a bond and Shafali is willing to learn from her.

Shafali, the brute force, didn’t know what consistency was. But watching Lanning play from the other end she now knows that now she understands how important that is. How much Lanning took Shafali under her wing was evident from the fact that in 2023, when Verma ended the match against Gujarat with more than 12 overs to spare, Lanning said from the other side that though she was not expecting that, she was happy to cheer for Verma.

Two contrasting personalities per se created a bond where Lanning could calm nervous Shafali and even say that she is very much eager to open the batting with Shafali Verma before the 2nd season of WPL, as she takes a lot of pressure off Lanning with her fearless approach. Their 885 runs for the opening stand in 18 innings came along with the laughter and chatter between both of them. But their partnership became more enjoyable, as Lanning termed it, because they filled each other’s gap, batting together.

Meg Lanning who didn’t know her much, before coming to the tournament’s too impressed by her involvement towards the game and her willingness to learn. And, she believes that though Shafali is a bit of a hit-and-miss at this point, she is a match-winner.

Take Minnu Mani for example. The first girl from Kerala to play for India was awestruck when she first made her debut under Meg Lanning’s captaincy.

In an EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with Women’s CricInsight, she said, “Playing my first match in WPL and that too under a skipper like Meg Lanning, was something I never dreamt of. It is beyond my imagination and thought that I have played under one of the greatest captains of our times. Before the match, Meg Lanning asked ‘All set? Good to go?,’ “When she handed me the ball she cheered me up and every time I went to bowl she was very much supportive. If I delivered a gem or got hit for four, she every time puts an injection a sense of belief irrespective of how I bowl,” she added.

Minnu who had led her state-side Kerala several times and even went to lead India A side against England last December credits the time she has spent under the leadership of Meg Lanning in Delhi Capitals in sharpening her leadership abilities. Spending two seasons with her, closely following how Meg Lanning tackles challenges while leading her troop out in the field has influenced her as well.

“She keeps things very simple. She reacts according to the situation and does the things that are needed exactly at that moment. I have learned how she leads a side and how she makes her players comfortable around her. All those things might have an influence when I am doing my captaincy. It helped me,” she again shared. 

Lanning showed belief in Minnu too. Once Minnu Got dropped from the side, Lanning took care of her too. In a recent interview with ESPNCricinfo, in her hard days, she got her captain, Meg Lanning by her side. In a recent interview with ESPN, she said how Meg Lanning helped her in her bowling practice. She focused on how Lanning guided her to land the ball in the right spot, by placing a cap on the pitch and also giving her the match scenarios.

Minnu made a comeback with a bang. In the last match against Gujarat, Minnu bowled two overs for nine runs and picked up the wickets of Litchfield and Gardner. As Lanning came running to hug her, Minnu rested her head on her shoulder, relieved that she might have felt that she had repaid the faith Meg Lanning showed in her.

Indian fast bowling trio of Titash Sadhu, Arundhati Reddy and Sikha Pandey also has found a new rigour under Meg Lanning’s captaincy. Titash mentioned in one of her interviews how Lanning brings composure to the side and how she comforted her seamers by assuring them that it’s okay to be hit as long as you know what you are doing, you are in the process.

As JJ said about the faith Meg Lanning puts in one, they try not to let down Meg Lanning. Meg is yet to win a trophy on Indian soil as captain.

will not be a bad idea for @BCCI to rope in #MegLanning as the mentor of @BCCIWomen for the ICC WC scheduled later this year. Playing the #WPL has given her the opportunity to gain first hand knowledge about the Indian conditions and Indian cricket. Just a thought. #WPL2025

— WV Raman (@wvraman) February 15, 2025

But the essence of her legacy without winning a trophy can be found in the words of WV Raman, the ex Indian coach who suggested that for the upcoming ODI World Cup, Meg Lanning should be added to the Indian coaching stuff as a mentor.

Once asked before the WPL Final 2025 about the same, Meg Lanning highlighted that she never thought of that but the idea of the former Indiam coach highlighting the importance of having Meg Lanning in the dressing room for an ICC event highlights Meg Lanning’s legacy.

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