Fresh Picks: Spotlight on WPL 2025’s new players

The auction for WPL 2025 was held on 15th December, 2024 in Bengaluru. The franchises, after a lot of scouting and research, picked the best domestic and international players. Many players will be featuring for the very first time and today, in this article by ZAP cricket, we share a list of all the players who are freshly picked by each of the franchisees. 

UP Warriorz 

The record of this franchise hasn’t been impressive, considering their bench strength. Hence, some shuffling was bound to happen. Few of the domestic players were dropped and Arushi Goel, Kranti Goud and Alana King were picked to fill the spots. Arushi Goel is a batsman from Uttar Pradesh with a decent record in domestic circuit. Kranti Goud has the potential to reach heights, she bowls at a good pace with attacking line and length. Lastly, Alana King is the star leg spinner from Australia. With her inclusion, the side looks more solid than before and now it even has a chance to lift their maiden title. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore 

The champions of the previous edition, RCB, have done a lot of research and investment to shape their team for the upcoming edition. They have included Charlie Dean, Joshitha VS, Prema Rawat, Raghavi Bisht and Jagravi Pawar in their squad. 

Under the captaincy of Smiti Mandhana, the side looks compact. Earlier, they relied heavily on international players like Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry etc. But now, as they have shown good interest in domestic Indian players, they can move forward in a more competitive way. 

Mumbai Indians 

Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. will be looking to replicate what they did in the 2023 edition. For that to happen, some inclusions have been done. The find of 2024 edition was Sanjana Sajeevan, who had hit a six on the last ball of the game, was from MI only. Just like her, the management will be willing to establish more of their players. They have picked Akshita Maheshwari, Sanskriti Gupta and G Kamalini. Akshita Maheshwari is a pacer from Rajasthan who is known for her late inswingers and she has the talent to leave a mark at the highest platform. Sanskriti Gupta and G Kamalini too are stars in making. 

Gujarat Giants 

Both the editions of WPL ended horribly for GG as they finished last in the points table. Despite having Harleen Deol, Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, the team didn’t perform well. This year, to turn their fortunes, they have picked Danielle Gibson, Deandra Dottin and Prakashika Naik. Amongst these three, it is Dottin, on whom all the eyes would be laid. The world knows what she is capable of. She played some really great innings in international matches. Now, we expect the same from her in the 2025 WPL. She can bowl, she can hit massive sixes, she can take diving catches, hence she’s a complete package and we can witness that here as well.

Delhi Capitals 

Meg Lanning’s Capitals have lost in the finals of both the years and now they have added Niki Prasad, N Charani, Nandini Kashyap and Sarah Bryce in their squad. These players have done significantly well in the domestic matches and were in notice and hence they ended up being picked by the DC management. Maybe this year, with their contributions in respective departments, they can help DC in clinching their first title.