‘I learnt as much in a month at WPL as my whole career’ – Lauren Bell shares experience of playing at RCB

Lauren Bell was one of the architects of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) triumph in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) earlier this year. Her spells with the new ball made the difference in several matches for RCB.

The right-arm seamer finished with 12 wickets in nine matches during the season. However, even in matches where she didn’t pick up wickets, she kept the opposition batters in check, both inside the power play and at the death. Her economy rate in WPL 2026 was a mind-boggling 5.53.

Bell recently stated that while playing for a month in the WPL 2026, she learned as much as she had in her entire career. She also admitted that she didn’t have much of an idea before WPL 2026 about how playing in India and representing a popular franchise like RCB would help her grow as a cricketer.

“I probably learnt as much in that month as I have in my whole international career. It was high pressure playing cricket out there. I was quite ignorant about what could happen when I got to India, but I quickly learnt how big a franchise the RCB was and how much pressure comes with playing for a franchise with such a passionate fanbase,” Bell told The Telegraph.

The 25-year-old recalled playing her first game at the franchise in front of 44,000 fans against the Mumbai Indians. She said she was very nervous but described the experience as priceless. Bell hoped that the learnings from her time in WPL would help her in international cricket.

“The first game I played was in front of 44,000 fans against the Mumbai Indians. They were chanting and I was bowling the first ball of the WPL. I was thinking, ‘This franchise has signed me and all of these fans are expecting me to perform for them’. It was one of the most nervous times I’ve ever felt. Experiences like that are priceless. Hopefully it will set me up really nicely for when I play for England and I get a similar feeling,” Bell, who is going to play a key role in England’s Women’s T20 World Cup campaign, said.