When the West Indies cricketers gear up for the first T20I against India at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday, the five Women’s Premier League (WPL) franchises will be locked in a bidding war, far away in Bengaluru, hoping to pick the best players from the auction.
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews believes the auction will not be a distraction. “I don’t feel too many of us are watching it too hard. We obviously know that it is coming up tomorrow but we also have a pretty important T20 match as well. That’s definitely the No. 1 priority,” she said on Saturday.
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“If a few of the girls get picked up, that’ll be great. I think the more players we can have playing in these kinds of competitions, it’ll be better for the team,” Matthews, who plays for Mumbai Indians in the WPL, said.
The Windies, who have had some praiseworthy performances in the shortest format, lost to New Zealand in the semifinal of the Women’s T20 World Cup, and Matthews believes a few teams might be keen on picking up a few of her teammates.
“Especially coming off from a World Cup like the one we’ve just had, it certainly has opened a lot of eyes to the West Indian girls and what they can do,” Matthews said, adding: “We will all be pretty focused on the match and then have a few cheers and a few smiles if some people get in the draft (sic).”