The allrounder had a sensational WPL 2024 taking 10 wickets and scoring 295 runs from eight matches
Women’s Premier League (WPL) franchise UP Warriorz on Sunday announced the appointment of India allrounder Deepti Sharma as the captain for the third edition of the tournament.
Sharma will replace Australia’s keeper-batter Alyssa Healy as the team’s skipper for WPL 2025. Healy was ruled out of the tournament due to a stress injury to her right foot after the recently-concluded Women’s Ashes. Healy was out of the T20I part of that series but returned and led Australia in the only Test of the series where she played in the middle order and didn’t keep wickets.
Deepti, who has previously captained Velocity in the WPL precursor Women’s T20 Challenge in 2022, will now take the reins of the Warriorz after two excellent seasons with the team.
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Last season, the offspinner claimed 10 wickets from eight matches at an economy of 7.2 and scored 295 runs at a strike rate of 136 which included three fifties. Sharma had also previously captained Bengal and East Zone in domestic cricket.
Sharma last played in India’s three-match ODI series against Ireland at home and claimed seven wickets at an average of 15.
Healy’s absence is a big blow for Warriorz who missed out a playoffs spot in WPL 2024 after losing five of their eight matches. Under Healy’s captaincy, they had made it to the playoffs in the inaugural WPL 2023 season.
The keeper-batter was coy about her plans to continue playing international cricket following the latest injury. Healy revealed that she is looking as far as the 2026 Women’s ODI World Cup in India.
“Unfortunately for me, I’ve got a couple of months with [my] feet up, so I’m pretty bummed by that. But at the same time [I am] elated to have a little bit of downtime and try and get my body right. It’s been a really frustrating probably 18 months for me,” the 34-year-old had said recently.
Healy was part of the three ODIs in the Women’s Ashes and registered scores of 70, 29 and 15. UP Warriorz have called West Indies allrounder Chinelle Henry as Healy’s replacement for WPL 2025.
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