Bowling was a concern and RCB have addressed it this time: Abhinav Mukund

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) finished fourth in the first season of the WPL in 2023 and chose to address the problems they had faced with their bowling unit when the auctions were held ahead of the second season in December. JioCinema and Sports18 WPL expert Abhinav Mukund spoke about how these changes may benefit them and what fans can expect from the team this time. Excerpts:

Abhinav Mukund on RCB’s bowling unit: “Look at the change from last year, Danni Wyatt, Megan Schutt make way for a team that looks way more balanced than what it was before. They have now got Ekta Bisht and Simran Bahadur, so I guess they are more or less sorted in terms of how their bowling is going to be. Bowling was a concern and they have addressed it as soon as they got to the auction. Georgia Wareham was the most underrated pick of the auction because she is a class bowler.”

Mukund on Indian talent in the RCB line-up: “The young Indian players in this team are really good. Richa Ghosh is a superb talent. Smriti Mandhana of course, Shreyanka Patil, Kanika Ahuja has been doing well, so I like the look of this RCB team, but their star players have to perform. Smriti has to perform and Ellyse Perry has to perform.”

Luke Williams, head coach of RCB, on their selection strategy: “Our strategy was around adding to our bowling stocks, and we are really happy with the variety of the bowlers we’ve picked up. Adding experienced players like Kate Cross and Ekta Bisht too was part of the strategy. The WPL is a high-pressure tournament, so to have some players with international experience was really important to us.”