PremiumHarmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma: Gujarat Giants' Shabnam Shakil lists her dream WPL wickets | Exclusive
Shabnam Shakil, only 15 years old, was part of India's U19 World Cup-winning team.
Last Updated: 01.19 PM, Mar 01, 2023
Shabnam Shakil, a young and skilled cricketer made history by becoming one of the youngest players ever to be auctioned in the Women's Premier League (WPL) Auction. The Gujarat Giants paid 10 lakh rupees to get the Andhra Pradesh right-arm medium pacer.
Shakil, only 15 years old, was part of India's U19 World Cup-winning team. She took three wickets in the five matches she played for India. The young gun is already well-known in the cricket community and her impressive performance in various tournaments caught the attention of the Gujarat Giants.
The player will be teaming up yet again with her World Cup-winning coach Nooshin Al Khadeer at the Gujarat Giants.
Not just that, she will also be under the able guidance of Indian cricket legend Mithali Raj, who has been roped in by the franchise as a mentor.
Speaking exclusively to OTTplay, Shabnam Shakil said she has already set her eyes on taking three key wickets at the WPL. When asked who would she like to dismiss at the inaugural edition of the tournament, she said, "Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma surely".
The pacer also said that she would love to make it to the Indian senior team soon. "I will perform to the best of my abilities at the WPL. This will help me make a place in the senior national team".
Talking about the players Shabnam Shakil wants to dismiss, while Harmanpreet Kaur is taken by Mumbai Indians (MI) for a price of INR 1.80 Crore and was later named as the franchise captain, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) splurged INR 3.4 Crore to sign Smriti Mandhana, making her the most expensive buy at the Auction. As for Shafali Verma, she was taken by Delhi Capitals for INR 2 crore.
Five teams — Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and UP Warriorz — spent a lot of money on the inaugural edition to bring in some of the top players on the national and international circuits.
The WPL is all set to begin on March 4 2023 and Giants will be facing Mumbai Indians Women (MI) at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.