Picking a combined RCB & UPW playing 11 for WPL 2024 ft. Smriti Mandhana and Sophie Ecclestone 

The first weekend clash of the 2024 Women's Premier League (WPL) will witness the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) take on the UP Warriorz (UPW) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.

Led by Smriti Mandhana, they had quite an underwhelming inaugural season in 2023, finishing fourth and quite far from the top three sides of the competition. The franchise have made a significant change to their coaching staff, replacing Ben Sawyer with Luke Williams during the off-season.

The UP Warriorz, on the other hand, had a solid first season, qualifying for the Eliminator before being defeated by eventual champions Mumbai Indians. They have made a couple of changes to their personnel, and have been bolstered by the inclusions of Danni Wyatt and Chamari Athapaththu in particular.

On that note, let us take a look at a combined playing XI from the talented squads of RCB and UPW ahead of their upcoming clash in WPL 2024.

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Top-Order: Alyssa Healy (WK), Smriti Mandhana, Kiran Navgire

The opening combination of Alyssa Healy and Smriti Mandhana is one of the ideal dream pairings as they bring in the aggression required in modern-day cricket as well as the left-hand-right-hand factor.

Mandhana had an underwhelming inaugural campaign, and she will be looking to set the record straight at the second time of asking. Healy, apart from her exceptional top-order batting, brings her wicketkeeping and leadership ability to the table as well.

Kiran Navgire played in all nine matches for the UP Warriorz in WPL 2023, and had a sub-par campaign, scoring 115 runs at a strike rate of 114.81. She does have the ability to go big and could be among the runs in the second edition of the competition.

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Middle Order: Tahlia McGrath, Grace Harris

Tahlia McGrath was the leading run-scorer for the UP Warriorz, and third overall in the inaugural WPL season. She is potentially the backbone of the batting unit for the franchise, switching gears from being the anchor to passing the baton over to the finishers.

Coming to hard-hitting players, there are very few names that can match Grace Harris' brute strength in the women's game. She was an instant hit in the league following an astronomical strike rate of 165, and was also one of the biggest bargain purchases of the entire season.

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All-Rounders: Ellyse Perry, Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil

The trio of Ellyse Perry, Deepti Sharma, and Shreyanka Patil will provide the combined XI with balance in their dual roles.

Perry comes into the 2024 season on the back of some shaky form, but she is a genuine match-winner on her day, something which she showed in glimpses during the inaugural season.

Deepti Sharma, on the other hand, is the No.2 ranked bowler in the shortest format of the game, and has been among the wickets of late as well. She did not have the best of seasons in WPL 2023, but she is expected to bounce back strongly to justify her price tag as one of the most expensive players in the league as well as her talent and reputation.

Shreyanka Patil was one of the few positives for RCB in WPL 2023, and the young all-rounder has gone from strength to strength since then. She had a stellar campaign in the women's Caribbean Premier League (CPL), emerging as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament.

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Bowlers: Renuka Singh, Sophie Ecclestone, Anjali Sarvani

Renuka Singh Thakur and Anjali Sarvani come across as a good Indian pair to open the bowling attack with the new ball. Sarvani, being a left-arm pacer, also brings some versatility into the mix as well while Renuka is arguably an automatic choice in the pace department being the spearhead of the national team as well.

Ecclestone, the No.1 ranked T20I spinner, rounds up the bowling unit quite well. Her left-arm spin complements well with the right-arm-off spin of Deepti Sharma and Shreyanka Patil, as mentioned earlier.

The England international was one of the most expensive overseas acquisitions at the inaugural auction, and she showed her worth with an exceptional campaign with the ball. Perched right at the top of the wickets chart courtesy of her accuracy and ability in WPL 2023, Ecclestone is bound to be a serious contender for the Purple Cap this time around as well.

Who will win the clash between RCB and UPW in WPL 2024? Let us know what you think.