New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS) Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Malolan Rangarajan said newly appointed assistant coach Anya Shrubsole’s intel has been invaluable in their 2026 WPL mega auction strategy, adding that the former England seamer has been brilliant in her role so far.

RCB underlined that England influence by snapping up fast bowler Lauren Bell and left-arm spinner Linsey Smith. “First of all, Anya is someone we’ve wanted on board for a while now and we’re very very happy that she’s part of our think tank and our set-up. For all the Indians, I will have to unfortunately remind everyone of the 2017 tragic she gave to us.”

“But jokes apart, we’ve been working with Anya for the last couple of weeks planning our retentions and auctions. It’s a coincidence that we have Anya, Lauren Bell and Linsey Smith, so don’t have to make any untowards connections there. It was a clear battle between MI and us for the pacer and we are very happy with that.”

“Anya brings a wealth of experience having played for England successfully and also captained franchises and teams around the world who are doing well. You can see the level of calm and intel she brings on board. Its invaluable and can’t put it into words, but she’s been brilliant so far and I am she’ll be even better in the tournament,” said Malolan, while replying to an IANS query, in the press conference.

Asked about missing out on buying back leg-spinner Asha Sobhana, who was snapped by UP Warriorz for INR 1.1 crore, Malolan said, “Talking about Asha first, obviously she was an integral part in RCB’s win in 2024, obviously we missed her in 2025 with her injury. Personally I’m very happy for her, she’s got a good payday, someone who really deserves what she’s got, and knowing her on a very personal front, so I’m very happy for her.”

“As far as what our strategy has been and what we’ve achieved so far, we’ve more or less ticked off what we’re looking for, trying to get as much as bowling and with our retained players, the idea was trying to supplement them and make them as better as possible. So, very happy with where we are at the moment, still got a little bit of work left, but happy at the moment.”

Mumbai Indians have been buying back their core players Amelia Kerr, Shabnim Ismail, and Sanskriti Gupta. Head coach Lisa Keightley said getting the trio back was important to their tactic of getting old players back for their title defence.

“Firstly, we’re really excited to have the same core back, we’ve got world class players in there who can win matches and games of cricket, which is most important. I think sometimes you can underestimate having the same core back.”

“I’ve seen in a lot of franchises being consistent with your group can sometimes give you an advantage and you don’t have to start the competition with so many moving parts, so hopefully that might play into our favour.”

“We were pretty much on the limit with Amelia, I think most people would have known that, but we think she’s worth the money, so we’re really excited to have her back,” she concluded.

–IANS

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