Will refurbished Giants finally become title contenders?

Gujarat Giants (GG) reached the knockouts for the first time in the Women's Premier League (WPL) last season, but lost the Eliminator to Mumbai Indians, who went on to lift their second WPL trophy. Giants had finished third in the league stage.

A lot. Giants retained just two players - captain Ashleigh Gardner and Beth Mooney - but made good moves at the auction to significantly strengthen their squad. New Zealand allrounder Sophie Devine was their biggest acquisition, for INR 2 crore.

They added several allrounders, including Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, Kanika Ahuja and Ayushi Soni, while also bringing back the Indian core featuring Bharti Fulmali, Kashvee Gautam and Tanuja Kanwar - all of whom represented Giants the previous season.

Their batting department also includes Danni Wyatt-Hodge and wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia, while the bowling attack has been bolstered by seamers Renuka Singh and Titas Sadhu, alongside left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad.

Fast bowler Happy Kumari, batter Shivani Singh and allrounder Anushka Sharma are among their other new recruits.

At the top, Devine adds firepower to a batting line-up that already boasts explosive players in Mooney and Gardner. New signing Wyatt-Hodge could also find a place in that top order if they can balance the XI well; last year, Wyatt-Hodge and Mooney combined for 2739 T20 runs, with Wyatt-Hodge topping the chart.

Wareham can also be a useful floater and chip in with the bat, but the Indian middle and lower-middle order may face a challenge. Players like Ahuja and Soni will be expected to step up if Giants' top-heavy batting falters.

On paper, the bowling attack looks much improved, with newcomers Renuka, Sadhu and Wareham joining Gardner, Gautam and Kanwar.

Beth Mooney: She remains Giants' most reliable batter and a vital cog in their line-up. Mooney scored 1340 runs in 36 T20s last year and comes into the tournament in strong form, having topped the WBBL run chart with three fifties and a century at an average of 45.75.

Ayushi Soni: Once described, when she was 20, by Harmanpreet Kaur as a batter with promise, Soni has steadily developed her game in domestic cricket. She made her India T20I debut in 2021 but did not bat. Coming off a good Senior Women's Inter-Zonal T20 Trophy, where she scored 160 runs in five innings to finish second on the table, she now makes her WPL debut and will be eager to make the most of the platform.

1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Sophie Devine, 3 Bharti Fulmali/Yastika Bhatia, 4 Ashleigh Gardner (capt), 5 Georgia Wareham, 6 Kanika Ahuja, 7 Ayushi Soni, 8 Kashvee Gautam, 9 Tanuja Kanwar, 10 Titas Sadhu, 11 Renuka Singh

Rest of the squad: Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Kim Garth, Happy Kumari, Anushka Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Shivani Singh

January 10 vs UP Warriorz
January 11 vs Delhi Capitals
January 13 vs Mumbai Indians