RCB spoilt for choice in wpl

Bengaluru: Come Saturday, it is finally showtime as the finest women cricketers from across the world and raw talent from India come together for the inaugural five-team Women’s Premier League. Each franchise carefully put together its team at the auction last month and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, led by Smriti Mandhana, are no different. Yet, what catches the eye in RCB is the amalgamation of international talent and untapped domestic potential. From Nagaland to Vidarbha and Punjab to Karnataka, their scouting program has been extensive and reflects in the team composition.Marshalling the resources is Ben Sawyer, a seasoned coach specialising in women’s cricket. Apart from having coached international teams like Australia and New Zealand, the pace bowling specialist weighs in with his involvement in women’s franchise cricket in Australia and England.But WPL will be a different ball game for the 44-year-old. Among the primary challenges is to strike a balance between the experience and expertise of the international stars with the lack of both in domestic players.“It is about using the experience of international players well. For example, Sophie (Devine), Erin (Burns) and others, talk to other players about field placements, speed of the ball etc, after each ball during practice. As coaches, we give them the inputs. But the best thing for the domestic players is to watch how the internationals go about their jobs and learn from it,” Sawyer told TOI.With players from five countries in the mix, Sawyer believes camaraderie will be crucial. “Bringing players from different countries is always the challenge of franchise cricket. “I think the time we spend on the field is as important as what we spend off it. The RCB management has done a great job of providing us with a team room, where we conduct a lot of team building activities,” the Australian explained.ARRAY OF STARSRCB’s line-up of stars include Erin Burns, Sophie Devine, Heather Knight, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt and Dane van Niekerk. With the competition norms permitting four overseas’ players in the XI, the RCB think-tank has a tough job on hand.But Mike Hesson, RCB’s director of cricket, during a media interaction on Thursday, underlined that the overseas talent will be well utilised.“We play four games in six days. I think it is highly likely that all six will play a role at some stage. Not because of fatigue, but due to a variety of skill sets which can be utilised against different teams. Don't expect only four to play (constantly), that may happen at the backend of the tournament. A majority of them can play varied roles because they are multi-skilled,” the New Zealander explained.