NEWS
Follow UsAustralia’s wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy will captain UP Warriorz in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League, the franchise announced on Wednesday (February 22).
The 32-year-old opener, who was bought in the auction for INR 70 lakh, has played 139 T20Is for Australia, scoring close to 2,500 runs, with one century and 14 fifties. She is also considered to be one of the best wicketkeeper-batters in the sport, with 110 dismissals in this format.
Healy has won the Women’s T20 World Cup five times and the ODI World twice in her illustrious career. “I am delighted to have the chance to captain the UP Warriorz in the inaugural edition of the historic WPL that will be played in Mumbai," said Healy.
“The WPL is a tournament we have all been keenly waiting on, and the UP Warriorz have a fantastic squad, waiting to making a splash once things get going. We have a good mix of experience and youth along with ability and look forward to putting on a show for our fans. We are here to win and be ruthless in our brand of cricket."
Speaking on the occasion, Capri Global Holdings Private Limited’s Managing Director, Rajesh Sharma said: “Alyssa is a giant of the game and has an immense amount of experience at the highest level, and also has the winning habit which we want in our team.
"We hope that the UP Warriorz can make significant strides in this important journey under the leadership of Alyssa Healy, and go on to be a source of joy and inspiration for the women of UP. I wish the team all the best.”
The auction strategy of UP Warriorz was fairly simple: Stack up the side with plenty of all-around options! And guess what, they did manage to get a few Indian all-around options along with some overseas stalwarts at steal prices.
Also read: Breaking down the Women's Premier League auction
The team will see three players from the Australian side as Healy, Tahlia McGrath and Grace Harris are all part of the franchise. The trio will form the core of the batting unit along with Indian spin-bowling all-rounders Deepti Sharma and Devika Vaidya.
The team also boasts of the number one bowler in women's T20I cricket, Sophie Ecclestone and the leading run-scorer of the Under-19 World Cup, Shweta Sehrawat. There ain't any doubt that the UP-based franchise looks formidable on paper, to say the least, and have most of their bases covered.
The UP Warriorz side, which is coached by England’s Jon Lewis, has Anju Jain as the assistant coach, while former Australian cricketers Ashley Noffke is the bowling coach and 4-time World Champion Lisa Sthalekar is the team’s mentor.
The Women’s Premier League is set to be played in Mumbai from March 4th to 26th. A total of 22 matches will be played with the Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium playing hosts to the marquee tournament.
The UP Warriorz open their campaign on March 5, with the second game of the day when they face the Gujarat Giants at the DY Patil Stadium.
Squad: Alyssa Healy (Captain), Sophie Ecclestone, Deepti Sharma, Tahlia McGrath, Shabnim Ismail, Anjali Sarvani, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Parshavi Chopra, Shweta Sehrawat, S Yashasri, Kiran Navgire, Grace Harris, Devika Vaidya, Lauren Bell, Laxmi Yadav, Simran Shaikh.
