• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly lauded the Indian women's team's success in recent years and lauded the impact of the Women's Premier League (WPL) on their performance. The former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president highlighted women's team growth since 2019 and rated it higher than men's team.

"This is a huge tournament, and I am so happy to see where it went in the first year. This was always in our minds for quite some time, but couldn’t happen because of Covid. But what it did for the women cricketers is phenomenal. The progress that women’s cricket in India has made since 2019 is perhaps more than the men’s team," Ganguly told JioCinema.

ALSO READ | WPL 2024: Delhi Capitals Full Squad

"The men’s team has always been very, very good. But from where the women’s team was to where they went, from winning the Asia Cup, the way they played in the World Cups, then the Commonwealth Games. They were by far the best team in the Commonwealth Games," he added.

The veteran southpaw showered praise on skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Varma and Renuka Thakur for lifting India's women's team in recent years.

ALSO READ: Virat Kohli Will Play 'Major Role' In Tests Against South Africa, Feels Jacques Kallis 

"To see them develop so much, Harmanpreet, Smriti, you name them, Richa, Jemimah, Shafali, the way they have progressed is impressive. When Jhulan finished, we thought where the next seamer would come from, and then the way Renuka Thakur has developed over the last three years. So, that’s the best thing about women’s cricket," Ganguly said.

Ganguly, who is also Delhi Capitals' Director of Cricket, revealed their reason behind picking Australia all-rounder Annabel Sutherland (Rs 2 crore), Aparna Mondal (Rs 10 lakh) and Ashwani Kumari (Rs 10 lakh) in the WPL mini-auction on Saturday.

"I think Ashwani Kumari is someone who they kept an eye on because she can hit the ball a long way and she bowls. We needed a back-up keeper, so we got another keeper. We had three slots to fill, we knew one will always be the most important one and we got Sutherland," he said.

On Meg Lanning's availability for the next WPL season after announcing her international retirement last month, Ganguly said, "She’s a big player in women’s cricket. She is huge for us. Her commitment last year was outstanding. Some of the stories you hear about her, about what she does in training, is really brilliant. She’s just 32 and she’ll be in a phase of her career where she will play and perform and be available to the franchise. A lot of players are going that way in modern-day cricket. She’s a fantastic captain from whatever little bit I’ve seen."