Annabel Sutherland will add a lot of depth, a lot of firepower to Delhi Capitals: Meg Lanning ahead of WPL opener

Meg Lanning, Delhi Capitals' captain, stated that the promising Australian all-rounder Annabel Sutherland will 'add a lot more firepower' to the side in the forthcoming 2024 Women's Premier League (WPL). The 2023 finalists will cross swords in the opening game of the tournament on February 23 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Ahead of the 2024 WPL, Lanning stated that Sutherland is an excellent addition to the side as she is skilled with both bat and ball. Notably, the 22-year-old was the joint most expensive purchase in the 2024 WPL mini-auction, where the last year's runners-up acquired her services for a whopping INR 2 crore. The all-rounder recently showcased her prowess in a one-off Test against South Africa, scoring a double century and picking up a five-fer in Perth, which her side won by an innings and 242 runs.

“She comes into the team in hot form. I have played a lot of cricket with her, and she’s a great addition, both with the bat and the ball. She has matured a lot on and off the field over the past 12 months. She will add a lot of depth, a lot of firepower to our team, and I am excited to see how things go,” Lanning told JioCinema.

ALSO READ: Who were the most expensive buys in the WPL 2024 auction?

Lanning, who was the leading run-scorer in the inaugural season of the WPL, amassed 345 runs and is eyeing to guide DC to win the title this time. The 31-year-old also opened up about the challenges they could encounter when competing in India.

“It will be nice to contribute like I did last year. But my number one priority is to win the tournament and help Delhi win the tournament. So obviously as a batter, I need to make some runs. That’s the plan I am looking forward to. I have always enjoyed playing in India, and it’s going to be tough. You’ve got some good bowlers out there and there’s no hiding these days as everybody knows what you do. So we’ll go out there, have some fun and see what happens,” she added.

Lanning opens about WPL 2023 final defeat 

Meg Lanning further spoke about how DC handled their loss to Mumbai in the WPL 2023 final and expressed optimism that they will perform better this year. The former Australia captain believes that she has improved significantly as a captain in the shortest format over time, and it might help her lead the team in the much-awaited T20 tournament.

ALSO READ: "It’s hard to get her attention on the field” — DC skipper Meg Lanning on 'talented and energetic' Jemimah Rodrigues

“Obviously, we would have loved to win, and we got reasonably close to that. We didn’t make as many runs as we would have liked to. We had to fight really hard with the ball, and Mumbai were just too good in the end. But to play such good cricket throughout was great. Hopefully we can go one better this year.

“I am a very different captain now than what I was at the start. A lot of it has got to do with instinct, especially in T20 cricket. It changes so quickly and you always need to stay a step ahead. So, it’s always a good challenge for me to think about what the batters may be trying to do, and plan with the bowlers accordingly. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. You have got to expect to fail a fair bit and expect things not to go right, but that’s the game and you need to work out the road ahead,” she said further.