She immediately attracted interest from UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants at the bidding war in Bengaluru. Both the teams needed firepower and seam-bowling options and made their interest clear. Both teams kept bidding and eventually, the Warriorz backed out when the price went to Rs 1.70 crore. Eventually, the Giants roped in the Windies' hard-hitting all-rounder.
The Giants also picked India's uncapped middle-order batter Simran Shaikh for a massive amount of Rs 1.90 crore. Simran was earlier part of UP Warriorz in WPL 2023. She played nine matches but could not create much of an impact in those games. The 22-year-old scored 29 runs in nine matches at an average of 5.80 and a strike rate of 60.41.
Simran was impressive in the Senior Women's T20 Trophy and Senior Women's T20 Challenger Trophy where she made 176 and 54 runs, respectively.
GG head coach Michael Klinger opened up on the two signings. "We were targeting Deandra Dottin and Simran Shaikh. They bring in power and batting at a high strike rate. They can put pressure on the rest of the group for spots in the starting XI. That often creates a winning culture, so I’m really excited for our first two picks," Klinger said at the auction venue in Bengaluru.
"Definitely (WBBL form had a massive role). Watched her play us in WBBL. Her power, the way she can change games in few overs with the bat, her speed and accuracy with the ball - she is a multi-dimensional player and that's something we were after. Also, her role in West Indies making the semi-final of the T20 WC, we've seen some fantastic performances that we were after," he added.
Meanwhile, Klinger confirmed that the team kept their eyes on Simran in the T20 tournaments. “We’ve been watching the local competitions closely, the T20s and the Challengers. She stands out in terms of her hitting power and strike rate, and complements the other local Indian players [we’ve got in the squad]. To have someone like her, potentially in our top six-seven, who can hit sixes straightaway, completes us. We were targeting her," he said on Simran.
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