New Delhi, Aug 26 — Long before the first ball of the 2027 Women’s Premier League (WPL), Neetu David is already at work from the edge of the boundary ropes, watching the subtle mechanics of a player simply walking across the field.

For the former India left-arm spinner, who spent five years as chief selector and signed off from her tenure by selecting the 2025 ODI World Cup-winning team, a cricketer’s stride reveals far more to her than any conventional stat sheet.

Now taking on the role of chief scout for WPL franchise UP Warriorz, Neetu brings her uniquely intuitive barometer to the high-stakes world of franchise cricket and the scouting universe. “I can't speak for what others do. But in terms of my process, what I like to see and what I think, according to me, is that the walking style of the players tells how the player will be.

“I tend to understand a player based on how their walking style is -- whether it is very agile or slow or very mentally tough. Seeing that helps me gain the initial understanding, and when I go to watch a match, I like to go before the match so that I can see how the players are doing their respective work in the outfield, and I focus a lot on it.

“Yes, because it makes a lot of difference to see the player in a match and what she is doing before playing that game. I also see her body language before and after the match. It shows you a lot of things, and this is my personal view,” Neetu told IANS in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

That sharp eye for hidden potential has already given a lot of players to the national side, especially after WPL began in 2023. “There are a lot of players we see and think that they are not ready. But they are ready for the challenge. When Kranti Gaud came, she didn't know anything. But today she is a star. When Sree Charani came, she didn't know anything.

“We used to think, what will she play? But when you watch her bowling, you will feel that this girl is very different. There are a lot of things that we don't understand. But when we set up a camp, we understand that we have chosen the right player. Like, this is the right player, and she will go ahead,” adds Neetu.

Her entry to the UPW set-up is an interesting tale - exhausted after wrapping up an assignment with the Bihar team, Neetu initially sought time off before a persuasive call from a trusted person in her circle sealed the deal.

“Kshemal (Waingankar, COO) ji called me and asked me if I was interested or not. So, I told him to give me two days' time because my Bihar assignment was just over and I was not getting time for myself.

“So, I gave him this answer directly because I did not know what the system was. But after two days, I called and discussed with my senior, who is very important to me, and the reply which came was, ‘Aap immediately haan bol do as ek toh yeh aapki apni franchise hai (You immediately say yes to it as first of all, it is your franchise).’ Then I called Kshemal ji and told him that, ‘I am okay, I am in’.”

Moving from tracking state age-group tournaments to see who can go to U19 and senior Indian teams to observing various leagues has presented a sharp learning curve even for an ICC Hall of Famer like Neetu, who knows the best of all the worlds. “There is a lot of difference, as in the domestic circuit, you do know how your players are because you have been watching them since the U-15s.

“Here, the role is a little different because you have to follow international cricket, and all the leagues, tournaments, or whatever is going on right now in India and overseas. You have to follow everything right now, and for me, it is a little bit of a new thing, and the support staff of UP Warriorz has helped me a lot. I am trying to get more into this thing, and I am seeing that there are a lot of difficulties, but I am also enjoying it a lot, and it’s very interesting too,” she said.

Despite the variance in international team selection and assembling a franchise T20 team, Neetu maintains that there are still some similarities. “I feel that both are equal in a lot of ways. In the domestic and international cricket circuits I have seen and experienced so far, there are a lot of age groups, and there are a lot of tournaments.

“So, you have to focus a lot on the performance of each state and each kid and see their performance and data very carefully. When you go to internationals, it is the same, and there are not a lot of difficulties because there is not a lot of junior-level cricket. So, I don't think there is a lot of difference in that,” she added.

The primary puzzle for UPW, a side yet to win the WPL and wooden spooners in the last two seasons, to solve is also identifying players capable of carrying the mental burden of franchise cricket. “For that, we have to see a lot of things because right now, while looking for players for India, there were difficulties. I won't say that there weren't any.

“But here, I have to think about a lot of things. Like there are international cricketers and our national cricketers, and considering that, we have to think a lot about whether this player will be able to play at that level or not. Will she be able to handle the pressure or not? This is a bit of a big challenge for us.”

Yet, Neetu remains optimistic about the upward trajectory of the Indian talent pool since WPL’s inception. “It’s been very good. Earlier, we had very few bench strength players. But now you will have so many players who can go to play for India. We think that because of the injuries, we are not getting many players. But now you will have a backup of every player in every side in the coming years,” she added.

With an off-season camp done recently in Bengaluru under head coach Abhishek Nayar and mentor Lisa Sthalekar, UPW is laying the groundwork one step at a time for having a memorable 2027 WPL.

“Yes, we had an off-season camp there, and some players had come. We were discussing with Abhishek and Lisa that we want to see our combination, and we want to see the ready players.

“So, there are some players that we are looking at, and maybe we are thinking of setting up another camp. We will have a meeting again, and we will decide how and what to do. So, there are a lot of players that we like, and we will discuss about it.”

“Our endeavour is that we are looking for good players for the future. We have seen a lot of options, keeping in mind the auctions. When we set up a camp, we will have final discussions with Abhishek and Lisa. Like, what should be the next combination of the team? What kind of players do we need the most? We will proceed accordingly,” signed off Neetu.

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