WPL 2023: Flop playing XI from inaugural season

2. Sophia Dunkley

Banking on England opener Sophia Dunkley’s decent batting numbers in international cricket, Gujarat Giants picked her at the 2023 WPL auction for INR 60 lakh. In the absence of regular GG captain and opener Beth Mooney, she got a chance to break into the playing XI against UP Warriorz.

Playing her first game against UP Warriorz, she failed to impress as Deepti Sharma got hold of the 24-year-old and ended her innings on 11 (13). Dunkley had a fairy-tale redemption as in the next game, she smashed 65 runs off 28 deliveries against a shaky Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Brabourne Stadium. Riding on Dunkley’s batting efforts, GG won the game by 11 runs as the youngster bagged the 'Player of the Match' award.

However, except for that knock, the opener had to go through her share of struggles with the bat throughout the tournament. Her run took debilitating turns against quality sides like Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals against both of whom, she failed to reach double-digit figures in any of the matches. In fact, she got out on a golden duck against Mumbai when the two teams met on March 14. She floundered under pressure when Delhi had their second encounter with RCB and managed to score just 16 runs off 10 deliveries.