"The staff wanted Sutherland, Aparna, Ashwani": Sourav Ganguly, Delhi Capitals Director of Cricket

Sourav Ganguly. Pic/AFP

Former Indian captain and current Delhi Capitals Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly said that the team already had a great squad last year and newly-bought players are a great addition to it. He also expressed hope that the team will play as good as it did last season in which they reached the finals.

The auction for the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2024 was held on Saturday. Delhi Capitals, the 2023 WPL finalists who lost to Mumbai Indians, brought on board: Annabel Sutherland (Rs 2 crore), Aparna Mondal (Rs 10 lakh) and Ashwani Kumari (Rs 10 lakh).

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Speaking about the exciting additions to the squad, Ganguly said as per a statement by the franchise, "The staff wanted Sutherland, Aparna and Ashwani, that is what we discussed at the auction, and we got them. The squad has been good since last year, so it is an addition. Hopefully, we play well as we did last year."

Ganguly further added, "We are a good side and it is the continuity of players who have performed well. Our Indian players are really good, and some of them who were part of us last year have now gone up a step higher to be in the national team, so that is also an additional advantage."

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The 22-year-old Sutherland, who was part of Gujarat Giants in the inaugural WPL edition, picked up three wickets in four matches. She is coming off an impressive Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) campaign, where she picked up as many as 23 wickets and scored 288 runs in 14 matches for the Melbourne Stars Women. She was part of Australia's 2023 ICC T20 World Cup-winning squad and has thus far played 22 T20Is and picked up 10 wickets.

Sharing his thoughts on acquiring Sutherland, Delhi Capitals Head Coach Jonathan Batty stated, "She was our number one target all the way through. We identified her multiple skill sets- she is an outstanding batter, one of the leading wicket-takers in the WBBL recently, and was the best all-rounder in the competition last year. She has got leadership qualities as well and is a gun fielder. We are very happy we have got her."

Wicketkeeper-batter Aparna Mondal, who was part of Delhi Capitals' squad last season, was reacquired for INR 10 lakh, while Ashwani Kumari became the last buy of the WPL 2024 auction, purchased at INR 10 lakh. The 26-year-old all-rounder from Jharkhand was part of Gujarat Giants in the previous season. She scored 153 runs at a strike rate of 120.47 in seven matches of the recently held Senior Women's T20 Trophy. She also featured for East Zone at the Senior Women's Inter Zonal T20 Trophy, scoring 103 runs in five matches, including a quickfire 52 off 25 balls.

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