Aakash Chopra picks 5 lesser-known players to watch out for in WPL 2024

Aakash Chopra has picked a lesser-known player from each franchise to watch out for in the upcoming edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL 2024).

The Mumbai Indians will face the Delhi Capitals in the opening game of WPL 2024 in Bengaluru on Friday, February 23. The tournament will be played in two venues, with Delhi hosting the second and final leg of the tournament.

On the AakashVani show on Sports 18, Chopra chose Sayali Satghare as the Gujarat Giants (GG) player to watch out for. He elaborated:

"Let's first talk about Gujarat Giants' replacement player. Her name is Sayali Satghare. She was very, very good in the domestic one-day competition last month. She also struck a century. They have tried to take a like-for-like replacement for Kashvee Gautam."

The former India opener feels Ashwani Kumari can complement Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues in the Delhi Capitals' (DC) Indian batting lineup.

"In Delhi Capitals, I am going to look towards Ashwani Kumari, that what sort of opportunities she gets because they have Shafali Verma at the top and Jemimah Rodrigues in the middle, and after that, an Indian batter was not seen. Ashwani Kumari can do that job. She has an amazing strike rate," Chopra stated.

GG acquired Sayali Satghare as a replacement for Kashvee Gautam, who, at ₹2 crore, was their costliest pick at the auction. Ashwani Kumari (₹10 lakh) was DC's final pick at the auction.

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"I am going to keep my eyes on Shubha Satheesh" - Aakash Chopra

Shubha Satheesh made her international debut in the only Test between India and England last year. [P/C: BCCI Women/X]

Aakash Chopra picked Shubha Satheesh as the player to watch out for in the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) squad. He reasoned:

"Let's talk about RCB now. I am going to keep my eyes on Shubha Satheesh. She made her debut against England in 2023. After that, she got injured for sure, but she is a handy cricketer. She bats left-handed, so you can get a left and right-hand combination in the middle if you want."

The cricketer-turned-commentator reckons Vrinda Dinesh could resolve the UP Warriorz's (UPW) Indian batting issues.

"The one area where the UP Warriorz were struggling was that they didn't have anyone in the Indian batting lineup. You look towards Deepti Sharma and then start thinking, who else? Vrinda Dinesh can come in such a scenario. She was expensive at the auction because she is a good striker of the cricket ball," Chopra explained.

Chopra named Amandeep Kaur as the player he will keenly follow in the Mumbai Indians (MI) lineup. He said:

"Last but not the least, let's talk about the champions. They are still a very strong team and Shabnim Ismail has also joined them. They have got Amandeep Kaur. They have a very strong bowling lineup, so it remains to be seen if she can do the job there. I am going to keep an eye."

UPW spent ₹1.30 crore to buy Vrinda Dinesh at the auction. Shubha Satheesh and Amandeep Kaur were acquired for ₹10 lakh apiece by RCB and MI respectively.