It's likely Gujarat Giants will be consigned to the footnotes of WPL 2026, but Michael Klinger, their head coach, believes this season was their best one yet.
"We finished outright second [in the league phase], so that's a huge improvement," he said after their seven-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals in the Eliminator. "Irrespective of whether we made the finals or not, we've learnt a lot around our squad. We're clear of the areas we need to improve. There's ten months to watch a bit of cricket, with local and overseas players, to come back stronger next year.
"To qualify [into the playoffs] for two years in a row, there's always teams who'd much prefer to be where we are than already having gone home. We're satisfied with that. But we're at the same time aiming for bigger things. It didn't happen this year, but we'll keep giving ourselves a chance by qualifying and next year hopefully play some stronger cricket in the bigger games."
GG's campaign included several big moments, nonetheless. Like a seminal maiden win over Mumbai Indians to dent their qualifying hopes to overturn a grim 0-8 head-to-head. That win was even more special, because they backed their strengths to bat first and win, something that hadn't been done in the WPL by any team for two seasons.
Or Sophie Devine orchestrating a final-over squeeze for the ages against DC by defending nine after having been carted for 23 in her previous over. Or even Beth Mooney and Georgia Wareham backing themselves to unleash in the death overs after GG were struggling at 59 for 4 in the ninth over in the Eliminator, and eventually hauling them to 168.
However, an area where GG lost ground as the tournament progressed was in the fading returns from their Indian contingent. After promising starts from Anushka Sharma and Bharti Fulmali, or even Kashvee Gautam with the new ball, those performances tapered off, leaving the side increasingly dependent on Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Devine and Wareham to carry the load.
Playing in her maiden WPL, Anushka who largely batted at No. 3 finished with 177 runs in eight games with a best of 44. Klinger assessed she's a "definite 300 runs" player, and the learnings from this year should make her a better player come 2027.
"Anushka had a good season for the first season but she could've starred as well, she got a lot of good starts which is fantastic for a young player," Klinger said. "The next step for her is to realise how good she is and realise she can be a 300-plus runs WPL season player going forward.
"She'll recognise that. She is a fantastic person and she's probably got a big chance to play for India before next year's WPL. I hope she does. That experience on the international stage will help us.
"Bharti [Fulmali] started the season well, played some fantastic innings [in Navi Mumbai]. But the conditions here [in Vadodara] with the lower bounce didn't suit her, and she couldn't quite get going. I think it's more just about them [uncapped Indian players] having the belief that they don't just contribute but they can dominate, like some of the Indian batters in other teams. If they come in with that attitude, they'll be fine.
"Hopefully we'll have Yastika Bhatia next year, if she's fit and healthy. That'll be another class Indian player to the mix."
While the disappointment of being knocked out in the Eliminator may not dissipate immediately, Klinger drew satisfaction from having put in processes over the past two seasons that he believes sets GG up for bigger things going forward.
"This was our best scouting season," he said. "Credit to our management and leadership - they put together a scouting team that went to all the domestic T20 finals and the Challenger Trophy. They flew me to Surat to watch the domestic T20 finals. Unfortunately, it rained most of the time, but we ran a trial camp indoors at the same time.
"Anushka, Shivani Singh [uncapped wicketkeeper] and Happy Kumari, who I learnt was a sprinter in her early years and someone who didn't even make it to her domestic state team with the pace she has, that was a revelation," Klinger said. "These are just three of the players we picked. There were many who we circled out to keep an eye out on, hopefully with a longer term.
"Our scouts watched a lot more cricket live this year, and a few of the names they put forward, I then followed up by watching extra footage before the auction. We definitely found a couple of gems."
Klinger circled back to Anushka's example to explain their scouting process.
"With Anushka, she had a good season, not amazing, but one scout pointed out the areas she hits and how her game would translate," he explained. "That's why we were prepared to go hard for her in the auction. Two other teams were bidding as well, but we were confident. When she arrived at camp, she was probably trying too hard initially. We picked that up quickly and told her to relax and that she was picked for her natural game. Once she settled, you could see why we rated her.
"So Anushka is a good example of someone we identified not just for this season, but hopefully as a Gujarat Giants player for a long time."
Improved focus on scouting has also kept Klinger on his toes during the off-season. He remembers going through tons of scorecards, at times even picking up a phone to reach out to someone even if it was midnight in Melbourne, where he lives, to get information on certain players.
"I follow Indian domestic cricket closely," he said with a chuckle. "During the off-season, I've got the BCCI app bookmarked and check scores daily, sometimes multiple times a day. I make notes, then follow up with people at the ground or analysts who source footage.
"That's how we worked really well leading into this auction. The challenge is identifying players who can take their domestic game to the next level. Some players perform well domestically but don't have the skill set for the next level."
Reflecting on a season of promise, Klinger credited Gardner for her calmness as a leader, and for leading from the front. Like in the game against MI, where she contributed 46 and a crucial wicket in a tight win that kept them alive. Or a cameo 49 that set up a tight win over DC earlier in the season.
"Ash has captained for a second year now, and that continuity helps. She's done a fantastic job," he said. "It's a high-pressure role, especially when you're captaining players you don't know well and you've only had a week together before the tournament.
"Adding Sophie Devine helped a lot. She's captained New Zealand and franchises around the world and has been a great support for Ash. Looking ahead, I'd love to see more Indian players step into leadership roles. We've spoken about Anushka, Kashvee Gautam, and Yastika next year.
"We want to ultimately build leadership depth among Indian players."