'They have the best batter, best bowler, and best striker' - Aakash Chopra highlights RCB's strength ahead of WPL 2023

With the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 over, cricket fans turn their attention towards the upcoming Women's Premier League 2023, which will kick off on March 4. The player's auction took place on February 13 with teams spending big bucks to sign their desired players.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) made headlines on auction day as they signed star Indian batter Smriti Mandhana for a record INR 3.4 crore and also bagged international stars like Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, and Sophie Devine.

Apart from big names, they also spent wisely to cover all areas and have a good mixture of experience and young talent in their team. They signed India's key pacer Renuka Singh and young wicketkeeper batter Richa Ghosh. 

Both the players made a big impact in the recent Women's T20 World Cup 2023 and that led former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra to label RCB as the best team ahead of WPL 2023. He said that Renuka is India's current best pacer and termed Richa as the best striker. Notably, the latter smashed 136 runs at a strike rate of 130.76 in the recent World Cup in South Africa.

“In terms of bowling, the team has Renuka Singh Thakur, which is a great acquisition for the simple reason that there are not many Indian fast bowlers, and Renuka Singh Thakur at this point in time is the best fast bowler in the country, and she is in the team along with the best batter in the country as well," Aakash Chopra said in JioCinema’s sports show ‘#AakashVani.

“The player who can play best in the T20 format is Richa Ghosh, whom they have, and in today’s scenario, Richa bats really well in the lower order. So RCB is loaded with a lot of experience and superstars, with the best batter, best bowler, and best striker in Richa Ghosh," he added.

Chopra also pointed out that women cricketers will earn more money from WPL contracts compared to men cricketers in IPL. He said that Smriti will be earning INR 3.4 crore for three weeks while men cricketers have to play eight weeks to earn around INR 10 crore.

“So, what they did for the women’s team is, they took Smriti Mandhana for 3.4 crores; it’s a tournament for 3 weeks, and you are getting 3.4 crores for 3 weeks. In the men’s tournament, they have to play for 8 weeks, and in those 8 weeks, they get thrice the amount of 10 crores. Not a single bowl has been bowled in the WPL, and if we talk about pay parity, then women are doing a lot better than men," Aakash added.

Royal Challengers Bangalore will kick off their campaign against Delhi Capitals at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium on March 5. They have appointed the current New Zealand women's team coach Ben Sawyer as a head coach and have named Mandhana as the captain for WPL 2023.