RCB women’s captain Smriti Mandhana is happy with the players the franchise has added to its squad ahead of WPL 2024. RCB finished second last in WPL 2023 and is eager to flip the script this time.

Players like Kate Cross, all-rounder Georgia Wareham and Indian spinner Ekta Bisht were among the players roped in by the franchise ahead of the new season. The owners were keen to add muscle to their bowling attack and they certainly did so at the auction.

Cross, the pacer, and Bisht, the spinner, are expected to be the difference in the bowling attack. RCB women already have Indian pacer Renuka Singh and Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry in their ranks and Mandhana feels the new additions will boost the bowling attack. Bisht was tied for 60 lacs, while Kate Cross was bought for her base price of 30 lacs.

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Bowling is definitely important in T20Is: Smriti Mandhana

“Bowling is definitely very important in T20s and a good bowling team wins you the competition this year. We were looking to strengthen our spin unit and also look for foreign pacers who can complement Renuka. [Singh] Well. Now we have Kate Cross and I think she will complement Renuka well on the power play with both swinging the other way. And with Molineux and Wareham, the bowling looks to be very experienced. Plus we have people like Shreyanka. [Patil] and also [Sophie] divine and [Ellyse] Perry,” Mandhana said in a statement released by RCB.

RCB Women new purchases at WPL 2024 auction

Georgia Wareham (Rs 40 lakh), Kate Cross (Rs 30 lakh), Ekta Bisht (Rs 60 lakh), Shubha Satheesh (Rs 10 lakh), S Meghana (Rs 30 lakh), Simran Bahadur (Rs 30 lakh), Sophie Molineux (Rs 30 lakh).

RCB Women’s Retained Players

Smriti Mandhana, Asha Shobana, Disha Kasat, Ellyse Perry, Heather Knight, Indrani Roy, Kanika Ahuja, Renuka Singh, Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Sophie Devine.

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