Shreyanka Patil on WPL 2024: Bengaluru ‘crowd chanting “RCB” and my name is special’

Asked how she navigates the pressure of bowling in the final five overs, RCB's Shreyanka Patil said, she loves "bowling in the death because it's a different challenge", especially for an offspinner. (Image source: @Shreyanka_Patil)

India and Royal Challengers Bangalore offspin-bowling allrounder Shreyanka Patil has lived life in the fast lane since making a mark at the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) last year. Though the Royal Challengers themselves had a far from memorable season, finishing fourth in the five-team competition, Patil impressed with both her offspin and ingenious strokeplay down the order, her outings paving the way for an India call-up for the England series at home last December.

How has life changed since WPL 2023? “…changed drastically for me because after the WPL, I made my debut for the Indian team,” Shreyanka Patil, 21, told the host broadcaster ahead of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s second match against Gujarat Giants on Tuesday. “That was a special moment for me. And, then doing decently well in the Indian side and coming back here and playing the second edition of WPL – it’s amazing and, especially, in front of my own crowd.”

Shreyanka Patil (Image source: X/@RCBTweets)

With the first half of WPL 2024 taking place in Bengaluru, the season well and truly marks a homecoming for Patil, who calls the city home. Add to that the reputation that the Royal Challengers’ fanbase across the WPL and the Indian Premier League (IPL) carries as the most loyal one there is in Indian league cricket, it’s hardly a surprise that they have showed up in large numbers at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium so far for the franchise’s two games.

“I just love this, I just love this energy when people give this because since I was a kid, I used to sit amongst all this crowd and I used to be ‘RCB, RCB,’ and now being here inside the ground and people chanting ‘RCB’ and name is a special moment for me,” she said.

“I think this year we have got the experience, and it's looking good,” she said of the team’s winning start to their second season, having won their opening game against the UP Warriorz. “Also the communication [that] is going around in the team is amazing. Just backing each other and knowing each other very well -- the impact on the field is really nice.”

A frontline finger-spinner who relies mostly on giving the ball a good rip and mixing up the pace dexterously, Patil operates at various junctures of a T20 innings, including at the death – both for the Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers and the Indian side, led by Harmanpreet Kaur.

Asked how she navigates the pressure of bowling in a phase as testing as the final five overs, Patil said: “I just wanted to be special. I just wanted to be that bowler who can bowl in all three phases of the match. So, I just love bowling in the death because it's a different challenge: being an offspinner and bowling in the death is not easy. So, I took up that role because I love to do it and I think I'm doing a good job.”

And what might the recipe of success be, bowling at the closing phase of an innings?

“I think it's just to be calm and knowing what you have to bowl at the back of the head and on top of your run-up,” she said. “Clarity plays a major role and also being aware of what's happening and what the game sense looks like and just backing your strength.”

Composure and clarity - Patil will need plenty of both to give the Royal Challengers every chance to have a season to remember in 2024.