WPL 2024 auction: Gujarat giants need to strengthen Fast Bowling department, believes WV Raman

Gujarat Giants are heading into the WPL 2024 auction with a purse of Rs 5.95 crores and 10 slots to fill.

Gujarat Giants finished last in the WPL 2023 points table. (Image: WPL)

New Delhi: Former Indian cricket team head coach WV Raman opined that Gujarat Giants need fast bowlers and want to get some in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 auction on Saturday in Mumbai. Gujarat Giants are going into the auction with a maximum amount of Rs 5.95 crores and 10 slots to fill.

They finished bottom of the table and released eleven players before the auction, including fast bowlers such as Annabel Sutherland, Kim Garth and Mansi Joshi, to name a few. “Their retentions suggest they were counting on hitters taking them.

“In this kind of competition, be it WPL or IPL, the foreigners either have to generate pace or hit fast bowlers. But what has happened here is that they have let go of all their fast bowlers,” Raman said in JIO Cinema.

“Annabel) Sutherland, for example, was let go and she is a very good all-rounder, which was a surprise to me. And now they have to look for two fast bowlers and they also need a few Indian batters and spinners,” Raman added.

Former India captain Anjum Chopra also echoed Raman and suggested that South African veteran Shabnim Ismail could be a good option for Gujarat Giants. “Annabel Sutherland was an integral part of the team, especially when Beth Mooney got injured and Sushma Verma came into the picture,” explains Chopra.

“I’m surprised they released her (Verma) too because she was the back-up wicketkeeper and the foundation of the team. I feel like they are trying to rebuild the team while retaining the resources,” said Chopra.

“I’m not too worried about Sutherland because they are looking for a real bowler. I won’t be surprised if they go after Shabnim Ismail. She is a regular who can bend her back and bowl, and a mix-and-match 50-50 kind of cricketer.