Mumbai: Prolific all-rounder Ellyse Perry has backed Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Smriti Mandhana to come good in the Women's Premier League (WPL), saying the left-handed opener needs a chance to find her feet in the ongoing competition.
Despite a star-studded line-up, RCB have lost all four matches and are rooted to the bottom of the points table. Smriti, the most expensive player of the competition, has made only 80 runs in four matches.
Moreover, she has fallen to off-spinners thrice in the tournament, while being dismissed by the left-arm spin of UP Warriorz' Rajeshwari Gayakwad in Bangalore's ten-wicket defeat.
"To be honest, knowing Smriti and how proud and responsible she is for her own game, there's probably no more pressure on her than what she is putting on herself. And it's a ginormous task to come into a brand new competition, play with a group of players she's never played with before and try and make that all gel in a matter of a couple of days since she joined the group."
"She is an incredible player, we all know that. She is a great captain too, she just needs a chance to find her feet in the tournament and she will, no doubt. But I think, the bigger picture, it means we are going to see an even better version of Smriti after this because I'm sure she has learnt so much from this competition already both as a captain and as a batter to make her even better in the future. She's only young still (26)," said Ellyse after the game ended.
At the same time, Ellyse signalled young off-spinner all-rounder Shreyanka Patil to emerge as a star cricketer in future. In three appearances, Shreyanka has shone with her cameos or spells with the ball.
"Shreyanka is super young and to see her bat the way she does and the bowling talent. She is a special star for future. I haven't seen someone like that of her age around the world for a long time with that kind of skill and attitude, and that's really cool."
