5 players to watch out for in Women's tri-series involving India, South Africa, and West Indies

South Africa will host the women's tri-series between January 19 and February 2, featuring the hosts South Africa, India, and the West Indies. The matches will all be played at the Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium in East London.

The series will serve as preparations for the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023, which will take place in the African country. A total of seven matches will be played in the tournament as part of the tri-series, with the three sides playing each other twice in the round-robin stage.

The teams will be fighting for a spot in the final before shifting their focus to the T20 World Cup, which will take place between February 10 and 26 in Cape Town, Paarl, and Gqeberha.

On January 19, India will play South Africa in the first match of the tri-series, followed by matches against the West Indies on January 23, South Africa on January 28 and again against the Caribbean side on January 30.

Here’s a list of the five players who might have an impact on the upcoming women's tri-series.

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#1 Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Madhana is one of the few players who can bring a stadium to life. Her explosive batting has class written all over it and is a sight to behold.

The southpaw is powerful yet graceful, fearless yet cautious. Mandhana's ability to play both pace bowlers and spinners with ease makes her one of the best batters in the world.

Mandhana is a vital cog in India’s arsenal, and with the range of shots she possesses, India will have high hopes of her playing some breathtaking innings as she did against Australia at the DY Patil Stadium in 2022, where she plundered the Aussie bowlers all around the ground.

The Indian team will be relying on her to provide a good start not only in the upcoming women's tri-series but also in the Women's T20 World Cup.

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#2 Renuka Singh

Renuka Singh Thakur has been nothing short of a revelation for India, and 2022 is testimony to that. She was fantastic last year, picking up 40 wickets in 29 matches and really being the reason for India's consistent performances.

For the past few decades or so, India's pace bowling stocks have relied heavily on Jhulan Goswami, and there have been many questions about Indian fast bowlers since her retirement. However, with Renuka Singh Thakur in the attack, bowling takes on a different and stronger appearance.

Her ability to swing the ball at will and extract deviations from the surface sets her apart from the rest and has firmly etched her name as one of the finest proponents of swing bowling.

India will be hoping to add a lot of teeth to the bowling, similar to her exceptional performance at the Commonwealth Games, where she ended up as the leading wicket-taker.

She has all the ingredients to be successful not only in the upcoming women's tri-series but also in the World Cup, given her bristling potential.

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#3 Hayley Matthews

The hard-hitting all-rounder from the West Indies, Hayley Matthews, has been named the captain of the side for the women's tri-series.

With 1,055 runs and 58 wickets in 61 T20Is, Matthews is currently one of the best all-rounders for her side. She is a ferocious striker of the cricket ball and can destroy any bowling attack with her power-hitting.

With her off-breaks, she often chips in on some economical overs and breaks some crucial partnerships.

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#4 Laura Wolvaardt

A young South African opening batter with experience far beyond her years, Laura Wolvaardt is not a power hitter but a sweet timer of the ball who plays the ball into the gaps with astute perfection. She has already appeared in more than 42 T20 matches for South Africa.

South Africa rely heavily on Wolvaardt to provide them with solid starts as the team is missing their regular captain. Dane van Niekerk could not make it to the women's tri-series squad, which weakens their middle order.

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#5 Marizanne Kapp

Marizanne Kapp is a one-of-a-kind and premier all-rounder. She is an asset to any team she plays for and is a gift that keeps on giving.

She can bowl in the powerplay, she can bowl difficult death overs, she can bat as a pinch hitter, she can rescue teams from precarious situations, and she can win super overs with both bat and bowl. Overall, she is the kind of player every team would dearly love to have on their side.

She is an irreplaceable enigma in the T20 format and a blockbuster package who can win matches for her team single-handedly.

South Africa will be hoping for that kind of performance from the South African veteran in the upcoming women's tri-series.