Dinesh Karthik reveals opening pair he would like to see in the RCB Women's team for WPL
Dinesh Karthik looked forward to the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL), slated for March, and revealed the favourite opening pair he would like to see for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)-owned WPL franchise.
The veteran India wicketkeeper-batter came up with his desired top-order combo for the Bangalore-based side, picking up names of Australian stalwart Alyssa Healy and India's ever-elegant opener Smriti Mandhana for the job.
Karthik announced his favourite opening combo for the Bangalore franchise during a #AskDK session with the fans on Twitter when one of the cricket followers asked him who would prefer if he were to name one Indian and one overseas player to open for the RCB WPL side.
For the part of his response, Dinesh Karthik also expressed his sense of excitement for what is perhaps the most anticipated domestic T20 league in the world, expected to lead to a paradigm shift in the women's game in India and across the globe.
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Dinesh Karthik picks RCB openers for WPL
Responding to a query from a cricket fan going by the handle @SreeFan36, Dinesh Karthik named "Alyssa Healy" and "Smriti Mandhana" as his preferred opening combo for the RCB-owned WPL franchise. The player stated it would be "quite an opening combo" to look forward to for his IPL franchise's WPL side.
As part of his response to the question, Karthik also expressed his excitement for the league. He said the backing from the fans, the BCCI and multiple corporate giants associated with the WPL augurs really well for women's cricket.
"I'm very very excited for the WIPL . It's been the most fun to watch sports embracing women and the love and affection they've got from fans," Karthik wrote.
I'm very very excited for the WIPL . It's been the most fun to watch sports embracing women and the love and affection they've got from fans .
— DK (@DineshKarthik) February 7, 2023
Alyssa Healy
Smriti Mandhana
Quite an opening combo 😉#AskDK https://t.co/VxXtrHhzgu
Karthik's open wish for the Healy-Mandhana duo comes close to the looming WPL auction, scheduled for February 13, when each WPL franchise will get to finalise their respective squads.
Five teams based in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Lucknow and Delhi will have a purse of INR 12 crores to fulfil a maximum squad of 18 members.
As per the tournament regulations, each franchise will get seven overseas slots to fill. They are allowed to field five overseas players in their playing XI, unlike the IPL, but under the provision that the fifth player must be from an associate country.