'CSK will be my team of choice for sure' - Alana King names her preferred team for Women's IPL

Australian all-rounder Alana King, who made her debut this year across all formats, has achieved laurels in the breakthrough year, and it continues getting better. As the BCCI has announced a Women’s IPL that is set to begin next year, Alana chose Chennai Super Kings as her preferred team to play for if the franchise enters the women’s tournament.

King appears to be checking all the boxes this year, from making impactful debuts across formats in less than a month to winning the ODI World Cup in her first stint at the global event and following it up with receiving her maiden contract from Cricket Australia. The most recent addition to the list is participating in India’s Women’s T20 Challenge. Alana’s parents, Leroy and Sharon, are from Chennai and thus the country holds a special place in their hearts.

“Given both my parents are from Chennai and I have been following Chennai Super Kings from the inception of the IPL, yeah be rude not for me to be asking Chennai to be my team of choice. Definitely, I will be trying to ask CSK to hopefully get a women’s team up and running and yeah that will be my team of choice for sure,” Alana told India Today.

I can’t obviously speak or understand Hindi but girls are teaching me a few words: Alana King

Having spent her life away from India, King was not taught either her native language Tamil or Hindi. But she said that being in India alongside Indian players from the Supernovas, she has been learning numbers in Hindi from her teammates.

“I know they (Indian cricketers) speak Hindi. I can’t obviously speak or understand Hindi but girls are teaching me a few words, which is good. So hopefully I can string a few words together in Hindi. They are actually teaching me how to count in Hindi. Harleen (Deol) is teaching me a little bit so we will try to perfect that by the end of the tournament. My parents can speak Tamil but they didn’t really teach my brother and I any Tamil so I may know a few words but can’t understand it or speak it fluently,” she added.

The fourth edition of the Women’s T20 Challenge starts on May 23 with the first match being played between the Supernovas and defending champions Trailblazers. Notably, Alana is the only Australian in the tournament this year as her teammates did not receive medical clearance to travel to India.