The Gujarat Giants (GG) have had a rough start to the Women’s Premier League (WPL)’s inaugural season. Both Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the Giants have been eliminated from the tournament. GG dominated only two matches out of their portion of eight, figuring out how to set up just 4 focuses on the board.
In the absence of Beth Mooney, the Giants, led by stand-in skipper Sneh Rana, defeated the tournament’s two best teams, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals. However, as far as the happy memories are concerned, that’s all they remember.
In this section, we examine three blunders committed by the franchise that ultimately hampered their progress in WPL 2023.
Beth Mooney’s injury
Gujarat Goliaths’ hopelessness in WPL 2023 began right from the primary game as they were managed a colossal blow as captain Beth Mooney’s physical issue.
The Giants greatly missed Mooney’s experience at the top of the order after she was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a calf injury.
Ashleigh Gardner’s conflicting appearances
The Gujarat Giants had high hopes for Ashleigh Gardner, their most expensive acquisition, to perform better.
The Australian all-rounder scored 204 runs at an average of 29.14 during the tournament, but he was mostly inconsistent. Without Mooney, the Monsters required her to move forward consistently, yet that didn’t occur.
She took 10 wickets with the bat throughout the tournament, but she was also very costly, allowing 9.21 runs per over. The Giants suffered greatly in WPL 2023 due to Gardner’s subpar performances.
Sneh Rana’s captaincy
The Gujarat Giants appointed Sneh Rana as Mooney’s replacement ahead of the season. They didn’t think Mooney would get hurt in the first game, so they might have been trying to develop Rana.
Rana was given captaincy responsibilities for the remainder of the tournament due to Mooney’s injury.
The Indian all-rounder lacked significant captaincy experience, as evidenced by her numerous shortcomings. The Giants lost a few games due to numerous tactical mistakes.
The leadership of the Gujarat think tank might have been delegated to a more seasoned individual like Gardner.