RCB to Giants and back home: The Sayali Satghare story

Sayali Satghare's WPL journey has looped 'back home' in a way she wouldn't complain about.

Having grown up idolising Virat Kohli and Ellyse Perry, Satghare already had a 'dream team' she hoped to represent. Despite a strong 2023-24 domestic season, the seam-bowling allrounder went unsold at the 2024 WPL auction. However, RCB contracted her as a net bowler and kept her as a potential injury replacement.

Then came a phone call that changed everything.

Gujarat Giants contacted her directly, signing her as the replacement for their uncapped new-ball bowler Kashvee Gautam. Satghare switched allegiances in a matter of hours.

She didn't debut for Giants that year but became part of WPL history as the competition's first-ever concussion replacement. That brief appearance was her only time on the field in 2024, but the Giants' management saw enough to retain her for 2025.

When her chance came in the third edition, it was laced with bittersweet irony. Her maiden WPL wicket—and the only one she took that season—was that of Ellyse Perry. The wicket "meant the world" to Satghare.

Ahead of the 2026 mega auction, the Giants released the 25-year-old. Her name came up in the auction and passed without any bids. For many players, that's the moment where belief is hardest to hold onto.

Satghare, an India player by now, was disappointed. But fate had another twist.

When RCB announced Perry had withdrawn ahead of the fourth edition due to personal reasons, they didn't have to look far. Satghare was back as a replacement, completing a journey that took off in the RCB nets, took a Giant detour, and finally found its way home.

She waited three games before earning her RCB cap. On debut at DY Patil Stadium, her first wicket in red and gold was her state captain, Jemimah Rodrigues.

Sharing the new ball with Lauren Bell, Satghare's task was to contain DC's middle-order. Instead, she cleaned up Rodrigues and then Marizanne Kapp, reducing the Capitals to 10/4 in less than ten balls. At the death, she returned to dismiss Lucy Hamilton, finishing with figures of 3/27 in three overs and setting up a comfortable chase for RCB.

Though overshadowed by Bell's 3/26 and Smriti Mandhana's explosive 96, Satghare gave the management enough reasons to stick with her.

She repaid that faith by leading the charge in Vadodara against her former team.

RCB posted 178—about 15-20 above par. With heavy dew present, early breakthroughs were vital to defending the total. An early playoffs berth and RCB's unbeaten streak were on the line.

This time, Satghare didn't have early strikes to build on. Facing her were the experienced, destructive opening pair of Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine.

She castled her first WPL captain, Beth Mooney, with a length delivery that shaped back in and skidded through. To Sophie Devine, she improvised with a short ball, forcing a pull shot to the larger square boundary. Devine found the deep-midwicket fielder. In dismissing the pair, Satghare out-powered the Giants' big-hitters and established herself as a lethal new-ball partner to Bell's discipline.

Satghare returned at the death, having Giants' skipper Ash Gardner caught at backward point to seal the game. A more economical 3/21 in her full quota against her former side again slipped under the radar, but in both her appearances for RCB, Satghare has showcased her ability to seize the moment and deliver under pressure.

For a player who once admired from the sidelines, Satghare has now played a quiet but decisive role in keeping RCB unbeaten after five games, making her mark not with noise but with impact.

Her foray into cricket at seven was a chance encounter—a powerful throw caught her cousins' coach's attention, who convinced her parents to let her try cricket. It's been a long wait for the limelight and consistent opportunities, but Satghare is ensuring she leaves nothing to chance anymore. Not for RCB, not for herself.