Jonathan Batty, head coach of the Delhi Capitals (DC), believes the pitches in Vadodara and Lucknow can offer high-scoring games. \u201cWe\u2019ve been really lucky the last two years that the wickets we\u2019ve played on have been absolutely fantastic, and we\u2019ve seen some really competitive high scoring games.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cAgain, we\u2019re just taking it game by game, assessing the conditions as we go. We were really lucky with the practice facility we had in Pune - we practiced on black soil and red soil wickets. So we\u2019re trying to cover all those bases without really knowing necessarily what we\u2019re going to find.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cHere in the Kotambi stadium, it\u2019s a fantastic wicket. Obviously, the Indian women played a series here recently (against Ireland) that was really high scoring. So I expect the wickets to be fantastic from that angle. As always with cricket, you have to assess those conditions when you get on the field, and you try and do those assessments beforehand.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt\u2019s only when the players step out onto them, they really know what they\u2019re going to do. So you\u2019ve got to stay flexible, stay fluid with your thinking and react to what\u2019s in front of you. But it\u2019s really exciting to have these new venues on the calendar,\u201d said Batty while replying to a query from IANS in the pre-season press conference.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Meg Lanning-led side reached Vadodara ahead of their tournament-opening game against Mumbai Indians on February 15 after wrapping an extensive pre-season camp in Pune.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Batty said he linked up after the whole squad had assembled and revealed there were intra-squad practice games played in the camp, which he called \u2018excellent\u2019. He added the camp also presented players chance to find their T20 rhythm and get themselves clarity on their roles in the team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe got out of it what we wanted individually and as a team, so that\u2019s nice. So we sort of got that part out of the way now. Now it\u2019s just about fine tuning a little bit more for the game coming up on Saturday for us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSo, we\u2019ve got a session at the stadium where we\u2019ll be playing the games, which will give us a good chance to see what the surroundings are like and get used to that. Then it sort of becomes a little bit more individualised, I guess, in terms of what individual players need to get ready to play, and we feel like we\u2019re ready.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s adapted to the conditions and got back into the swing of things after sort of a year apart as a full squad. So preparation\u2019s been really good, and we\u2019re excited. There\u2019s good energy amongst the group. So it\u2019s just about now, fine tuning, as I said, and getting ready for the game coming up on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In terms of their playing eleven composition, DC have to decide who between the incumbent Taniya Bhatia, and new joinees Nandini Kashyap and Scotland\u2019s Sarah Bryce don the keeping gloves. Taniya has led the charge with the gloves for the first two seasons, but hasn\u2019t contributed substantially with the bat for DC.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cTaniya\u2019s been probably the best wicketkeeper in the tournament the last two years. I\u2019ve been really impressed with her glove work. Our job as a team is to keep involving, developing, and growing. So obviously getting some more challenge for that we\u2019re keeping role is really important for us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an open floor at the moment. We will obviously come Saturday, pick the best 11 to try and win that first game, and that will continue through the tournament. So selection is always in the players hands. It\u2019s up to them to sort of show to us that they should be in the team, prove that they should be in the team.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s nice to have some real competition for Taniya in that wicket keeping spot. But it\u2019s nice that we have grown our squad. I think we\u2019re really strong again. We\u2019ve kept the core together. But our job is to have the strongest 18 player squad we possibly can do,\u201d he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
WPL 2025 re-starts DC\u2019s quest to win their first title after suffering consecutive runners-up finishes. Batty signed off by saying their planning for WPL 2025 began shortly after losing last year\u2019s final at their home ground Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, including having specialised camps for their Indian contingent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cFrom the moment a tournament finishes, you start planning for the next cycle as well. We actually stay connected with the WhatsApp group. So players obviously stay connected, wish each other happy birthday, watch how each other are doing in different tournaments and share those congratulations and good luck messages around. So there\u2019s a really nice connection through the rest of the year with that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
WPL 2025 re-starts DC\u2019s quest to win their first title after suffering consecutive runners-up finishes. Batty signed off by saying their planning for WPL 2025 began shortly after losing last year\u2019s final at their home ground Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, including having specialised camps for their Indian contingent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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