WPL 2025: 5 Indian uncapped players in WPL who could shine

The third edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) will be starting in the first week of February 2025. All teams have retained the majority of their players heading into the WPL 2025 auction. They had limited slots to fill, and only a few standout domestic talents could have been signed. Among the newly signed talents, these five players have done a terrific job so far in the domestic competitions, thus having a spotlight heading into WPL 2025.

NANDINI KASHYAP (DC)

Nandini Kashyap is going into her first WPL on the back of two terrific tournament performances - the Senior Women's T20 and Challengers Trophy. The runs she scored in these two competitions resulted in her getting her first call-up to the Indian side during the three-match WT20I series against West Indies and getting signed by the Delhi Capitals franchise for 10 lakhs in the WPL 2025 Auction. 

Representing Uttarakhand in the Senior Women's T20 Trophy, she scored 247 runs at a strike rate of 125 and average of 41.2 finished as the third highest run scorer in the tournament. In the T20 Challengers Trophy, she was the highest run scorer as she smashed 332 runs in five innings with four fifties, striking at 137.

NIKI PRASAD (DC)

Niki Prasad has been the talk of the town in Women's cricket in the last couple of months as she has been named the captain of the U-19 side for the second edition of the ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup starting on 18th January 2025. She has been a decent batter at #3 and #4, scoring 162 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 126 in the Women's U19 T20 Challenger in October 2024 before the WPL Auction. A great U19 World Cup 2025 as both batter and as captain might result in Niki Prasad making it to the playing XI of the highly talented Delhi Capitals franchise.

KAMALINI G (MI)

G Kamalini was the name that made a big noise in the WPL 2025 auction as Mumbai Indians signed the 16-year-old Tamil Nadu batter for a whopping INR 1.6 crores.Kamalini is considered to have the pedigree to become a big-time batter in the future of women's cricket as she has been trained at the critically acclaimed Junior Super Kings program. The left-hand opening batter has had a great domestic season in 2024, scoring 581 runs in 13 games, smashing four fifties and a hundred at a strike rate of 125. She is going to be a key feature for the Indian team in the upcoming ICC Women's U19 World Cup. 

AKSHITA MAHESHWARI (MI)

Akshita Maheshwari is one of the most talented pacers in domestic cricket. The Rajasthan pacer will be making her first WPL appearance after getting signed by the Mumbai Indians. There, she will learn under the guidance of their mentor, Jhulan Goswami, and the leader of the bowling attack, Shabnim Ismail.

She had her breakout performance in the Women's Under 23 One Day Trophy, where she was the second-highest wicket-taker, taking 23 wickets in eight games. She became the first Indian to take two hattricks, taking three consecutive wickets against Odisha and Mizoram. She took three 4+ wicket hauls in the eight games.

PRAKASHIKA NAIK (GG)

Prakshika Naik has been a domestic standout in the last couple of years. The Mumbai leg spinner has been a terrific bowler, taking wickets in crunch moments and contributing with the bat in the lower order.

She had a great 2024, taking 14 wickets in the Senior Women's One Day Trophy and seven wickets in the Senior Women's T20 Challenger, where she finished as the highest wicket-taker, leading India E to the title.