Gujarat Giants: Building on a breakthrough season amid familiar batting questions

Where they finished in WPL 2025: Third. After winning only two games in each of the first two seasons, the Giants had their strongest performance last season. A slow start was followed by a three-match winning run, securing their first-ever playoffs berth. Uncapped players like Kashvee Gautam and Tanuja Kanwar delivered strong performances.

Mega-auction overhaul: Head coach Michael Klinger said he would have been happy with a small auction to rejig the side. At the big auction, the Giants were not big spenders. After retaining Ash Gardner and Beth Mooney, they bought back Kashvee Gautam, Kim Garth, Tanuja Kanwar, and Bharti Fulmali. Their biggest spends—over a crore—were on the overseas all-round duo of Sophie Devine and Georgia Wareham. The squad is balanced, but the batting remains heavily reliant on overseas imports.

Newsmaker(s): Yastika Bhatia—The southpaw has been out with a knee injury since playing for India A in August 2025. Giants acquired her for INR 50 lakh, but her availability this season is uncertain. In her absence, the Indian batting lineup looks extremely inexperienced.

Watch out for: Anushka Sharma—The 22-year-old middle-order batter from Madhya Pradesh has worked extensively on her power-hitting over the past year and a half. She caught the attention of WPL scouts with performances in the MP Women's League and BCCI inter-zonals. The Giants' coaching staff is impressed by her talent, but her ability to perform under high pressure is yet to be tested.

Probable XI: Beth Mooney (wk), Sophie Devine, Anushka Sharma, Ash Gardner (c), Bharti Fulmali, Kanika Ahuja, Georgia Wareham, Kashvee Gautam, Tanuja Kanwar, Titas Sadhu, Renuka Thakur

Bench: Happy Kumari, Kim Garth, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Ayushi Soni, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shivani Singh

Schedule: Gujarat Giants hope to adjust quickly to conditions in Navi Mumbai, especially with three games in the first four days. Their four home games in Baroda each have at least a three-day gap.

• Jan 10: vs UPW at 3:30 PM in Navi Mumbai
• Jan 11: vs DC at 7:30 PM in Navi Mumbai
• Jan 13: vs MI at 7:30 PM in Navi Mumbai
• Jan 16: vs RCB at 7:30 PM in Navi Mumbai
• Jan 19: vs RCB at 7:30 PM in Vadodara
• Jan 22: vs UPW at 7:30 PM in Vadodara
• Jan 27: vs DC at 7:30 PM in Vadodara
• Jan 30: vs MI at 7:30 PM in Vadodara