WPL 2024: What Is Going Wrong With Gujarat Giants?

Gujarat Giants has had a horror run so far in the Women’s Premier League 2024 (WPL 2024), having lost all of their four league games in the Bengaluru leg of the tournament. Staring at the bottom of the table with a negative NRR (Net Run Rate) of -1.804, GG must pull up its socks and aspire to return stronger in the Delhi leg.

Here is an assessment of what is going wrong for the Gujarat Giants in the WPL 2024.

1. Decisions by the Management ahead of the Season

While Mithali Raj is a stellar player and has a legacy that speaks volumes but her management skills are still to be developed and nurtured. One of the biggest concerning trends was how GG let go of crucial players like S Meghana, Hurley Gala, Kim Garth, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham and Sophia Dunkley to name a few ahead of the season before the auctions, which were questionable in just one season.

It was going to be a massive overhaul for them this season and with the acquisition of new players- they expected a change in fortunes that clearly did not happen. Even, the signing of Michael Klinger as Head Coach after the auctions was a bizarre move considering where is the time to acclimatise and help strategise for the auctions versus now having to lead a squad where he did not have a say in the picking of the players.

Considering GG does not have a male equivalent team, we will have to give them the benefit of the doubt that they are still figuring out auction dynamics, team combinations and how to make the most of the available resources. On paper, they have a commendable team but why is it not giving them the desired results?

2. Unfortunate injury to Kashvee Gautam

Ahead of the season, in what turned out to be a massive setback for the Gujarat Giants was the key signing of Kashvee Gautam who had to pull out of the tournament because of injury. She was going to be a crucial cog in the wheel for GG as she would have added a lot of depth with her batting and bowling and was trusted by the management to execute her role to perfection.

Having had solid returns in domestic cricket, a lot was expected out of her presence in the squad but much to their despair, this was a massive blow. GG signed Sayali Satghare as her replacement and it will be interesting to see if the pace bowling all-rounder gets a go-ahead and a place in the playing 11.

ALSO READ: WPL 2024: Gujarat Giants (GG) – SWOT Analysis

3. Beth Mooney’s Captaincy

The first season of the WPL witnessed Sneh Rana captain the Gujarat Giants in the absence of their designated skipper, Beth Mooney. While Rana did lead her troops admirably, GG still had a poor season. Heading into this season, Beth Mooney was given the reins to lead the side and while a lot was expected of her, she has undoubtedly fallen short on all fronts.

With her inexperience in captaincy coming to the fore this WPL, be it the selection of the playing 11, the bizarre field settings, or the lacklustre and not innovative strategies- it has been a big letdown. The lack of chemistry and understanding of the domestic players and giving them the longer rope with more overs while bowling has been an observation so far and Mooney still has the rest of the season to go back to the drawing board and fix the problems.

4. Underperforming Indian core

What has added to GG’s troubles certainly has to be the fact that the Indian core of the team (i.e.) Harleen Deol, Veda Krishnamurthy, Dayalan Hemalatha, Meghna Singh and Sneh Rana haven’t set the stage on fire with their performances or inspired confidence. Harleen Deol at #3 in the batting has been an absolute let-down with her indifferent returns and disappointing outings so far. Even dropping Sneh Rana midway did not feel ideal but her performances haven’t really stood out which justified it.

This has contributed to the team’s underperformance and while this combination of players have been blowing hot and cold in their outings, GG depended heavily on them to get going but a lot plays down to how the skipper uses them in what stage of the game- which again has also been far from ideal. So, a concoction of these factors has proven to be extremely challenging for GG to get going.

5. Playing 11 combinations and the form of overseas players

With whatever available resources, it was already going to be a mountain hill to climb for the team management to figure out the ideal playing 11. The four overseas players were the obvious choices – Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield and Lea Tahuhu but this combination again has not been in the best of form. The bonus with the associate player Kathyrn Bryce who would immediately walk into the playing 11 and in her limited outings, she has been impressive. Then, what is going wrong?

For a lot of the WPL teams, their overseas reserves being in good form is imperative as that sets the tone for the rest of the team to stand up and deliver. But the constant chopping and changing in the playing 11 saw Lea Tahuhu make way for Laura Wolvaardt and with the unimpressive returns of the overseas players also factoring in, GG has had it tough.

💔 pic.twitter.com/8olLd2BQEM

— Gujarat Giants (@Giant_Cricket) March 3, 2024

6. Domestic Core?

GG was the one team who have an interesting mix of players in their domestic reserves core. The likes of M.D. Shabnam, Trisha Poojitha, Sayali Satghare, Priya Mishra, Mannat Kashyap and Tarannum Pathan are young and exciting talents but are unheralded.

With the lack of opportunities given to them in the set-up owing to the insistence to persist with underperforming players, it is very questionable as to what is the strategy and the way ahead for GG.

ALSO READ: Under The Spotlight: Top 5 Performances By Indian Domestic Players In WPL 2024

7. Problems in the batting department

Batting first or chasing- GG has been terrible with the bat. In the four matches so far, GG has batted first twice posting underwhelming totals of 126/9 vs MI, 107/7 vs RCB, 142/5 vs UP Warriorz and while chasing 163 vs DC- falling agonisingly short by 25 runs; GG has been far from impressive with the bat.

While a lot has depended on the top six to bat commendably, no one has stood apart with glitzy knocks. The fact that none of their batters even feature in the top 16 top run-getters of the tournament speaks volumes about how much they have been struggling to get going.

8. Depleted bowling attack

Another cause for concern for Gujarat Giants has been the middling performance of their bowling attack. Meghna Singh, Kathyrn Bryce and Ashleigh Gardner have been on the expensive side but have gotten wickets while Lea Tahuhu and Sneh Rana have been inconsistent. Tanuja Kanwer has been a sigh of relief for the struggling side with six wickets but again with the lack of strike bowling options in the pace and spin department, how will GG challenge the opposition with their bowling remains to be seen.

Fostering future stars! 💫

Our Adani Sportsline Academy girls met the Gujarat Giants #TATAWPL squad, igniting their passion to chase dreams. 💪#BringItOn #GujaratGiants #Adani pic.twitter.com/aUikQJebFz

— Gujarat Giants (@Giant_Cricket) March 6, 2024

Touchdown Delhi! 🛬

Our Giants have landed in the capital city for the second leg of #TATAWPL. 😍#GujaratGiants #BringItOn #Adani pic.twitter.com/Od1VUNPKYY

— Gujarat Giants (@Giant_Cricket) March 5, 2024

Here’s hoping that GG can find their mojo, make a statement in the Delhi leg of the tournament and put on a show to remember for their fans and spectators alike!

Click Here to get the latest news related to Women’s Cricket. You can also check about Match predictions here. Like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more updates.