Surrounded by superstars, Anushka stands out on WPL debut

Beth Mooney, Sophie Devine, Ashleigh Gardner and Georgia Wareham. These four, each with at upwards of 100 international caps, occupied all but one spot in Gujarat Giants' top five in their first match of WPL 2026. It can't be easy, then, to make your debut in the competition as the fifth member of that list and put in a standout performance. But that's exactly what Anushka Sharma did on Saturday against UP Warriorz.

Anushka's 30-ball 44 wasn't the biggest score in the match, or in GG's innings. But the timing of it made it instrumental in setting up their highest-ever WPL total, which proved enough to bag two points. And the innings immediately showed why the 22-year-old is rated so highly by scouts, and why she sparked a bidding war between three teams at the WPL auction.

She walked in to bat in the fifth over, when Mooney fell, and saw Devine hole out in the sixth. Giants were well-placed at 56 for 2 at the end of the powerplay, but with Gardner taking time to settle, they were in danger of losing momentum.

Anushka ensured that never happened. After taking five balls to get her eye in, she targeted legspinner Asha Sobhana in the eighth over. When Asha tossed one up, Anushka swept her for four. When she pulled her length back, Anushka used the depth of the crease to pull her wide of mid-on.

In the next over, she drove Ecclestone through the covers, showing no fear against one of the highest-rated bowlers in the world.

She then showed her smarts when she took strike for the first time against Deandra Dottin, lofting her over the mid-off fielder who had just been brought up before that ball.

Gardner, with whom Anushka stitched a 103-run stand, took note of the courage it takes for a young batter to play the way Anushka did.

"She's such a talent," Gardner said after the match. "Obviously I've only ever seen her bat in the nets. I guess to spend time in the middle with her… she keeps her game pretty simple. She opens up different areas of the ground, and for such a young player to be brave enough to do that, it was really pleasing to me at the other end."

By the end of the 12th over, GG were 103 for 2, and Anushka had scored 30 off 21 balls while Gardner was still struggling to take off at 18 off 19.

From there, the GG captain took charge, racing to a half-century off just 30 balls as the next three overs went for 49 runs. Anushka hit two more boundaries before picking out long-on, and she had done her job by then, perfectly bridging Devine's early onslaught and the fireworks from Gardner followed by Wareham, which took GG past 200.

"Anushka, she's going to be playing for India," GG head coach Michael Klinger said. "She's a fantastic cricketer. She's got time at the crease, she's timing the ball beautifully. She can hit both through the field and over the field.

"She bowls really well, though she didn't get an opportunity today, and she's really good in the field. In the auction, three teams bid for her. We thought maybe she'd go under the radar but she had two other teams bid for her in the auction so people obviously know here in India that she's a quality young player and we are very happy to have her."

Klinger felt Anushka's technique and range of strokes made her a prime candidate for No. 3, over some of the other young Indian batters in GG's squad.

"In the lead-up to the auction we had a great scouting system where we had people watching domestic cricket," Klinger said. "I flew over to Surat to watch some domestic T20 finals. Obviously watched a lot of footage. Our analysts are able to get a lot of stats and footage for us. We identified her and others.

"We've got a couple of good-quality young Indian batters not playing as well - Ayushi Soni and Shivani Singh are good, good cricketers. We gave an opportunity to Anushka first. We just felt top-three spot is what we were looking for, and from what we saw and the feedback we got, she's got good technique and plays really good cricket shots, and can hit those both aerial and through the field.

"We felt that was going to stand up against good, quality bowling that you get in the WPL. It's only the first game so she'll just keep working away. There'll be some games she does well, there'll be some games where she misses out, as it does with any player, particularly a young player, but we are keen to keep backing her. I think experience, for her, it's only going to make her better."

Looking into his crystal ball, Klinger saw a bright future ahead of Anushka. "She's doing everything right at the moment and I can see a big future for her - hopefully with Gujarat Giants for the next 10 years and for India as well."

Anushka, speaking after GG's innings, said she had been nervous to start with, but calmed down after facing a couple of deliveries.

"It was crucial to build a partnership at that time," she said. "Me and Ash [Gardner], we were both talking about building a partnership and it worked well for our team."

She was then asked about stepping up from domestic cricket to the WPL. "I think it is more about mindset, how you read situations and react according to that."

She also spoke highly of GG's coaches. "We have a great staff with us - Dan [Daniel Marsh, batting coach], Michael [Klinger], Pravin [Tambe, bowling coach] sir. They all helped me so much with the areas where I can execute my boundaries and sixes and where I can score runs."

Coming into the season, it looked like GG could end up being over-reliant on their overseas stars with the bat. But if Anushka can deliver on the promise she showed in her first opportunity, they'll have a bankable Indian star for years to come.