WPL Team of the Tournament

The 2023 Women's Premier League (WPL) concluded on Sunday with the Mumbai Indians being crowned the inaugural champions. The tournament saw a lot of individual brilliance from players across the five different teams.

Who can forget Sophine Devine's stunning 99 against the Gujarat Giants or how Hayley Matthews emerged as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Tournament, after being unsold in the first round of player auction?

Here, we name the inaugural WPL Team of the Tournament:

Hayley Matthews

Opening the batting for the Mumbai Indians, Hayley Matthews scored a whopping 271 runs at a strike-rate of 126.04 in the WPL. She was also the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 16 wickets, including a three-fer in the all-important final. Matthews was rightly named the MVP of the tournament and is the first name in the WPL Team of the Tournament.

Meg Lanning

The Delhi Capitals captain Meg Lanning was at her absolute best in the WPL. She not only led the team into the inaugural final, but was also the highest run scorer in the tournament. The Australian scored a total of 345 runs in just 9 innings at an average of 49.28 and strike-rate of 139.11.

Nat Sciver-Brunt

Nat Sciver-Brunt played two match winning innings for the Mumbai Indians in the two most important matches of the tournament. Her half centuries in the eliminator and the final virtually led Mumbai Indians to the title. She finished the tournament with 332 runs and 10 wickets. She was second in the list of MVPs, behind teammate Matthews.

Harmanpreet Kaur (c)

Harmanpreet Kaur, the first-ever WPL winning captain, will lead our side of the tournament. The Indian captain was right on the money throughout the tournament and scored 281 runs in 9 innings at a strike-rate of 140.14. Her innings of 37 in the final helped the Mumbai Indians stabilise their innings after two early wickets in the chase.

Alyssa Healy (wk)

Not her usual batting position, but UP Warriorz' captain Alyssa Healy will bat down the order and take the gloves in our team of the tournament. The Australian scored 253 runs in 9 innings, including a stunning 96*.

Dayalan Hemalatha

In what was a rather dismal campaign for the Gujarat Giants, Dayalan Hemalatha was one of the shining stars. Batting down the order, she played a few good cameos with the bat and finished with 151 runs in 8 innings at a strike-rate of 155.88.

Pooja Vastrakar

Pooja Vastrakar was not required to do much for the well-oiled Mumbai Indians, but the pace bowling all-rounder did step up when the team needed her. She scored 71 runs at a strike-rate of 144.89 in just 4 innings and had an economy rate of just 5.75 with the ball in the tournament. 

Kanika Ahuja

One of the finds of the 2023 WPL, Kanika Ahuja helped the RCB to their first-ever win in the tournament. Though RCB faced an early exit, Ahuja was one of the Indian domestic talents who shone brightly. She scored 98 runs in 6 innings, including a match winning 46 against UP Warriorz. She also scalped two wickets in the only over she bowled in the tournament.

Shreyanka Patil

Shreyanka Patil has long been rated highly by the close followers of Indian women's cricket and the 20-year-old showed exactly why during her limited opportunities in the WPL. Patil's fearless attitude and confidence won her a lot of fans. She took 6 wickets in 7 matches to go with 62 runs in 6 innings. 

Shikha Pandey

The veteran pace-bowling all-rounder Shikha Pandey once again gave a timely reminder as to why she is the best talent when it comes to this discipline in the country. She was, hands down, the best Indian pacer in the tournament with 10 wickets in 9 matches and was very economical in the death overs. Pandey also played a crucial counter-attacking knock of 27* in the final to help the Delhi Capitals to a fighting total against the Mumbai Indians.

Saika Ishaque

Saika Ishaque was undoubtedly the best Indian uncapped player of the inaugural WPL. The left-arm spinner took the tournament by storm and troubled the best of batters. Mumbai Indians' early run of form was built on the back of her impressive consistency. She finished the tournament with 15 wickets in 10 matches. Ishaque was also the first purple cap holder in the tournament.

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