5 possible captains for the Women's Premier League teams

More than 400 players - domestic and foreign, have registered themselves for a coveted place in one of the five teams of the inaugural Women's Premier League. The teams include the Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, UP Warriorz, Mumbai Indians, and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

While each of the teams will look to get a balanced and strong set of players to clinch the inaugural title, having an equally good captain will be pivotal.

Here are such five players who will surely be in the running to be captain material for these five teams, unless of course, one single team scoops up more than one of the following players.

Meg Lanning

One of the most successful captains in the world of women's cricket, Meg Lanning is a certified legend of the game. A veteran with the experience of having played more than 125 T20Is and having led the Southern Stars to multiple world titles, Lanning is also one of the best batters in the format. She could be an automatic choice for captaincy in whichever teams she lands in.

Heather Knight

A World Cup winning captain for England, albeit in ODIs, Heather Knight is one of the better all-rounders in world cricket. Though her T20 numbers are a bit pale compared to her ODI statistics, a combined experience of more than 230 international matches would make her a safe bet for leading a WPL team.

Sophie Devine

Sophie Devine has been plying her trade in international cricket since 2006 for New Zealand. The 33-year-old is number 3 ranked all-rounder in the world and is also the captain of the White Ferns in the ongoing 2023 Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa. With an experience of 116 T20Is, the teams would be eager to blood in her as their captain.

Smriti Mandhana

For the teams looking for an Indian captain in the WPL, Smriti Mandhana will be an obvious choice. The Sangli lass is one of the best batters in the world in the shortest format and has also stepped in wonderfully as and when needed as the captain of the Indian team. Take into consideration the age on her side, and Mandhana emerges as one of the sure shot players to lead a WPL team.

Harmanpreet Kaur

It looks highly unlikely that Harmanpreet Kaur would not lead a WPL team. The Indian captain across formats, Kaur is one of the most dangerous batters in T20s. Her leadership skills too have improved over the years, with each and every member of the Indian team crediting her for their success.