WPL 2025 Fantasy League: Best Fantasy XI for Match 1 - GG vs RCB | WPL Fantasy Tips

The most-awaited third edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) is all set to begin on Friday, February 14. The defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on the Gujarat Giants in this tournament's curtain-raiser at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara.

With it, the season-long official WPL Fantasy game, powered by the Dream11 engine, also returns for another season, engaging plenty of Fantasy cricket enthusiasts.

The game follows the updated Dream11 Fantasy point-scoring system that has further tilted in the favor of batters. But apart from that, there aren't any major changes to the rules, with 50 transfers available to managers for the entire season.

With that out of the way, let's dive right in and find the ideal WPL Fantasy XI ahead of Match 1 of WPL 2025.

Transfer Deadline: 07:30 pm on Friday, February 14.

Note: The suggested team may change depending on the toss or other unexpected team news. Any such changes will be updated in the articles for the next matchday.

---

WPL Fantasy 2025 - Best Fantasy XI for Match 1 - GG vs RCB: Thoughts and Captaincy Tips

Best WPL 2025 Fantasy Team for Match 1 - GG vs RCB

Wicketkeepers: Beth Mooney (GG) (7.5 Credits) and Richa Ghosh (RCB) (8 Credits).

Batters: Harmanpreet Kaur (MI) (8.5 Credits), Smriti Mandhana (RCB) (9 Credits), and Shafali Verma (DC) (8.5 Credits)

All-Rounders: Georgia Wareham (RCB) (7 Credits), Ashleigh Gardner (GG) (9 Credits), and Hayley Matthews (MI) (9 Credits).

Bowlers: Renuka Singh Thakur (RCB) (7 Credits), Radha Yadav (DC) (6.5 Credits), and Tanuja Kanwer (GG) (7 Credits).

A non-stop stretch of frenetic and entertaining cricketing action begins as we enter the third edition of the WPL.

The format for the official season-long Fantasy league for WPL 2025 is quite similar to previous editions, with 50 transfers to spend across the 22-game tournament. Managers will also have five boosters to bolster their teams at various points in the season, with the effectiveness of the booster usage heavily dictating one's final standings.

New players, new venues, and a new Dream11 point-scoring system that overpowers batters certainly make this a challenging edition of WPL Fantasy. So without further ado, let's look at the team selection for Match 1.

Beth Mooney enters WPL 2025 in terrific form with the bat and the gloves. Freed of the captaincy burden, the consistent and dependable opening batter and wicket-keeper could rack up the points this season.

Her counterpart in the RCB camp, Richa Ghosh, is one of the most devastating ball-strikers in the world, and even if she comes in to bat late in the innings, she could produce a decent haul only with her boundary-hitting.

Coming to the batters, the in-form Smriti Mandhana is a no-brainer given her current form, with MI captain Harmanpreet Kaur an easy choice given her belligerent batting style.

Shafali Verma has found form after getting dropped from the national team, and she'll have a point to prove this season. The new Dream11 points system suits her attacking style of play, and she could end up as one of the most popular picks by the end of the tournament.

Another factor to notice is that prices aren't competitive at all this season, with the highest-priced players costing only nine credits, meaning that budget is no bar in team selection this time around.

Moving on to the all-rounders, Ashleigh Gardner and Georgia Wareham are two Australian spin-bowling all-rounders who'll be crucial to their team's chances of a win on what should be a spin-friendly track at the Kotambi Stadium. The new GG captain, Gardner, could also star with the bat, making her a good captaincy option.

Hayley Matthews is a shoo-in from tomorrow's fixture between MI and DC, with the West Indies captain opening the batting and likely to send down 3-4 overs.

Finally, three economical Indian bowlers round this team out. Renuka Singh enjoyed bowling at this venue in the recently concluded ODI series against West Indies, where she picked up ten wickets in only three games, and if she could replicate even a fraction of that form, we could be in for some sizeable point hauls.

Meanwhile, the two left-arm spinners Tanuja Kanwer and Radha Yadav have been consistent performers for their respective teams, and should start this season strongly.

I've gone for seven players from the opening fixture between GG and RCB, and four from the MI-DC clash on Saturday in the team selection for Match 1.

Captaincy for Match 1: Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, and Smriti Mandhana are the standout captaincy options for this fixture. Mooney and Mandhana, in particular, have a very high ceiling as opening batters.

Smriti, in terrific form, and against a GG bowling lineup that is light on quality seam bowling, especially in the powerplay, could make a big score. Similarly, if Mooney can see off Renuka's testing new ball spell, she could score runs freely through the middle overs with Asha Sobhana ruled out and Shreyanka Patil an injury doubt.

---

WPL Fantasy 2025 - Best Fantasy XI for Match 1 - GG vs RCB: Final Lineup

Wicketkeepers: Beth Mooney (GG) (7.5 Credits) and Richa Ghosh (RCB) (8 Credits).

Batters: Harmanpreet Kaur (MI) (8.5 Credits), Smriti Mandhana (RCB) (9 Credits), and Shafali Verma (DC) (8.5 Credits)

All-Rounders: Georgia Wareham (RCB) (7 Credits), Ashleigh Gardner (GG) (9 Credits), and Hayley Matthews (MI) (9 Credits).

Bowlers: Renuka Singh Thakur (RCB) (7 Credits), Radha Yadav (DC) (6.5 Credits), and Tanuja Kanwer (GG) (7 Credits).

Note: The players named in bold are expected to play in this game.