Klinger satisfied with Gujarat Giants' WPL mini-auction signings

Michael Klinger, coach of the Gujarat Giants, said he was pleased with his side’s purchases at the WPL mini auction in Kochi on Wednesday. The Giants added new faces including G. Kamalini and Ireland’s Orla Prendergast to their squad.

Klinger returned to Kochi not as a player but as coach of the WPL franchise after last being in the city during his IPL career. He recalled his own playing record: three T20Is for Australia against Sri Lanka in 2017 in which he scored 38, 43 and 62, a career total of 24,729 runs across First Class, List A and T20 cricket, and a spell with the Kochi Tuskers in the 2011 single season that team existed.

G. Kamalini was the player he had targeted most, and the Giants secured her at her base price. Klinger also welcomed the addition of Orla Prendergast from Ireland and said the aim at the auction was to strengthen a squad that was already well balanced.

“We had a really good squad before the auction and had a lot of bases covered, but to top up with some players who can easily play in the starting eleven for us was our main aim,” Klinger told The Hindu. “So now we have got some difficult decisions to make come WPL time. But they are good problems.”

Klinger highlighted the composition of the playing group and named the established internationals he will rely on. “We have a mix of experienced players and youngsters,” he said. “It is great to have champion players like Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner and Sophie Devine.”

He singled out Indian talent Yastika Bhatia and referenced her recent Test century at Lord’s on her return from injury. “I was very happy to see Yastika score that hundred for India in the Lord’s Test on her comeback after injury,” he said. “I think she could play in the Indian T20 team too, purely as a batter.”

Klinger noted the franchise’s recent consistency and expressed confidence in the reinforced squad after the auction; having made the playoffs in the last two editions, he believes the Giants have the players who could go all the way this time and said he will probably fly back to Melbourne in a happy frame of mind.