UP Warriorz have named star Australian wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy as their captain for the inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL 2023), scheduled to be held next month in Mumbai.
Healy has won five T20 World Cups (2010, 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2020) and also won the ODI World Cup in New Zealand last year. She has scored 2446 T20I runs at a strike rate of nearly 128 with one century and 14 half-centuries. Healy led the Australia T20I side in India recently when regular captain Meg Lanning had taken a break from the game. Healy has also captained Sydney Sixers in the WBBL.
“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. 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,” Healy said in a statement issued by Warriorz.
“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,” she added.
“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,” Rajesh Sharma, managing director of Capri Globals, who own Warriorz, said.
“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,” he added.
The UP Warriorz side, which is coached by England’s Jon Lewis, has Anju Jain as an assistant coach, while former Australian cricketers Ashley Noffke is the bowling coach and four-time world champion Lisa Sthalekar is the team’s mentor.
WPL 2023 is set to be played in Mumbai from March 4 to 26. A total of 22 matches will be played at the Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium.
The UP Warriorz will open their campaign against Gujarat Giants at the DY Patil Stadium on March 5.
UP Warriorz Squad
lyssa 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 and Simran Shaikh.
