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WPL: Flexibility & adaptability as a player, to play at different spots key for UP Warriorz

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The UP Warriorz announced the retention of their core squad ahead of the third Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 season.

The franchise has retained the major chunk of the squad from the previous season, with 15 of the 18 players retained for the upcoming season of the WPL.

The team is keen to build around the existing group of players and wants to achieve great things together in the future. Australia captain Alyssa Healy, who captained the side in the first two editions of the WPL, has been retained, as has Deepti Sharma, the Most Valuable Player in the league last season.

The squad also boasts of a blend of seasoned internationals and emerging Indian talent such as Tahlia McGrath, Chamari Athapaththu, Sophie Ecclestone, Grace Harris, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Anjali Sarvani and Shweta Sehrawat, to name a few. Ahead of the retention deadline, England batter Danni Wyatt was traded to the Royal Challengers Bangalore, while Parshavi Chopra, Yashasri S. and Laxmi Yadav will head back into the auction pool. This continuity of players reflects the Warriorz’s strategy to build on the potential this team has shown in the last couple of seasons.

With a cohesive unit in place, the UP Warriorz team will together be striving for success in the WPL 2025.

Head Coach Jon Lewis noted down on how important the flexibility in roles is important for the team in the shortest format of the game. “What you will see with the group of young Indian players and core batters we have, is that there will be flexibility. They will have to be flexible when they choose to step into international cricket, and this will be a good grounding for them in teaching them different roles and developing different roles within their game.

Their ability can open lots of different avenues for them moving forward. So, I think having flexibility and adaptability as a player to play in multiple different spots is really important.”, he stated.

Looking forward to the upcoming season the Women’s Premier League, Kshemal Waingankar, Chief Operating Officer at Capri Sports said, “The UP Warriorz have begun the preparations for Season 3 of the WPL, and we believe that continuity is one of the key aspects in terms of doing well in team sport. This process is not an overnight one, and we will keep doing our best to make significant progress. With Coach Jon Lewis at the helm, it is all about consistency as we try to make progress. We look forward to the upcoming edition of the WPL, and we are ready for battle”.

UP Warriorz retentions for WPL 2025:

Alyssa Healy (captain)-Wicket-keeper

Uma Chetry-Wicket-keeper  

Kiran Navgire-Batter 

Shweta Sehrawat-Batter 

Vrinda Dinesh-Batter  

Deepti Sharma-All-Rounder 

Chamari Athapaththu-All-Rounder 

Grace Harris-All-Rounder 

Poonam Khemnar-All-Rounder 

Tahlia McGrath All-Rounder 

Sophie Ecclestone-Bowler 

Anjali Sarvani-Bowler  

Gouher Sultana-Bowler 

Rajeshwari Gayakwad-Bowler 

Saima Thakor-Bowler

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Why Head Coach Gautam Gambir is under the lens?

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Transitions are never easy. More so when a dressing room is dotted with superstars who are in the twilight of their glittering careers.

That’s the reason India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir finds himself caught between a rock and hard place.

Indian cricket’s big transition has started with Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement, and Gambhir may have to be the ‘Harbinger of Doom’ for some of the megastars if the currently tied Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia does not end up being decisively in India’s favour in Melbourne and Sydney.

While Ashwin took the hard call himself, anyone with a basic understanding of Indian cricket would know that Gambhir’s decision to include Washington Sundar at the senior pro’s expense was the biggest trigger.

Skipper Rohit Sharma wasn’t even in Perth when the decision was made.

There are four big names — Virat Kohli, Rohit, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami — in the Indian dressing room right now.

Shami isn’t playing this series but not being able to even join the team hasn’t actually left him in a good space.

While the senior selection committee, chaired by Ajit Agarkar, will have a say, the names in question are big enough to warrant a respectable discussion before being given the final nudge.

But unlike his predecessor Rahul Dravid, nuance isn’t exactly Gambhir’s biggest forte.

To be fair to Gambhir, Dravid didn’t have to deal with a transition this huge but he did actually tell Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha that their days in national colours were over.

Neither Ishant nor Saha were as big a star as the quartet mentioned above and they walked away quietly.

The focus has been squarely on seniors, especially skipper Rohit and Virat, for their underwhelming form.

However, Gambhir, whose appointment as head coach created a lot of buzz, is also very much under the lens.

Eight Tests since his arrival have thrown up four defeats, a draw and three victories. These are not results that the fiery opener would have envisaged.

The celebrations after saving the follow-on in Brisbane were mistaken for joy. Anyone familiar with the dynamics of competitive sport would know that the high-fives were more a display of relief.

Will his position as head coach become untenable if India don’t qualify for the World Test Championship final? The answer is a “No” at this point.

Will it be untenable if India don’t win the Champions Trophy?

Perhaps not, as both the ongoing series and the next 50-over ICC event will comprise a core that has been there for a considerable period of time.

Is the BCCI ready to give Gambhir a free hand to create a team of his own, where he would be the master planner with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah (possibly next Test skipper) and Suryakumar Yadav (T20 skipper) executing his strategy?

It can’t happen right away but it’s not too far either.

Those who know Gambhir insist that his heart is in the right place even when he takes harsh or seemingly risky calls. Nitish Reddy and Harshit Rana were his choices and they have not been bad.

But the Indian dressing room, where player power has always prevailed, requires a lot of patience from a coach to earn the trust of players.

John Wright, Gary Kirsten and Ravi Shastri were able to earn that trust but Greg Chappell and Anil Kumble, despite being legends, failed to click.

Gambhir’s situation is more like what Duncan Fletcher endured in 2011 when he took over an ageing team.

By the time the 2014 England away series concluded, India under Fletcher’s stewardship had lost 11 Tests (seven in England and four in Australia).

Shastri was appointed as Cricket Director to oversee Fletcher, which was basically aimed at sidelining the Zimbabwean.

The world remembers Gambhir for being a hero in two World Cup finals and the brain behind KKR’s three IPL trophies — two as captain and one as coach. But a lesser known fact about Gambhir is that in 2017, he relinquished Delhi Capitals captaincy midway through IPL for Shreyas Iyer.

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BGT 2024

Rohit’s knee injury not serious, says pacer Akash Deep

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India pace bowler Akash Deep played down concerns over skipper Rohit Sharma’s knee injury in the build-up to the fourth Test against Australia this week after the batsman was hit during a practice session on Sunday.

Rohit, who missed the opening Test to spend time with his newborn son and has been struggling for form since returning to the team, looked in discomfort after being struck on his left knee in the nets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The 37-year-old continued batting but later received care from a physiotherapist and had an ice pack strapped to his leg, which he rested on a chair.

“Such injuries are quite common when you play cricket and it doesn’t make much of a difference,” Akash told reporters, adding that the practice wicket had been challenging.

“I think this was a wicket for white-ball cricket, so the ball kept a bit low and it was a bit difficult to bat on. But such blows happen and it’s not a concern.”

India battled hard to earn a draw in the rain-interrupted third Test in Brisbane to leave the five-match series locked at 1-1 ahead of the Boxing Day clash.

The tourists won the first Test in Perth by 295 runs before crashing to a 10-wicket defeat in Adelaide.

“It’s 50-50 right now. In the last match, even though we were behind, we built some confidence. This Test match will be very important for both teams,” Akash said.

“Our mindset as fast bowlers is that we can get some quick wickets with the new ball and cause problems for them. We have seen in the three matches that we can create chances with the new ball.

“After 30 overs, however, you have to wait for the batsmen to make mistakes.”

On Saturday, KL Rahul was hit on his hand while batting at the nets at the MCG and was promptly attended to by the visiting team’s physio. India’s opener was hit on his right hand and seen in some discomfort. 

There was no clarity on the extent of injury and the team management did not issued any statement on why he had sought medical attention.

In a video that surfaced on social media, Rahul was seen holding the right hand while receiving treatment.

The opener was also hit on the arm during match simulation on November 17, but was fit to play the opening Test in Perth, five days later.

Rahul has been the team’s in-form batter in the ongoing tour, scoring 235 runs from six innings at an impressive average of 47.

The elegant right-hander has so far struck two half-centuries and is set to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in the fourth Test.

Overall, he is the second highest scorer in the marquee series behind Australia’s swashbuckling middle-order batter Travis Head, who has already smashed two hundreds.

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BGT 2024

Melbourne Test: Injury scare for KL Rahul

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India opener KL Rahul got hit on his hand while batting at the nets in Melbourne on Saturday and was promptly attended to by the visiting team’s physio ahead of the fourth Test against Australia.

Rahul was hit on his right hand and was seen in some discomfort at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which will host the Boxing Day Test from December 26 with the five-match series levelled at 1-1.

There is no clarity on the extent of injury and the team management has also not issued any statement on why he had sought medical attention.

In a video that surfaced on social media, Rahul was seen holding the right hand while receiving treatment.

The opener was also hit on the arm during match simulation on November 17, but was fit to play the opening Test in Perth, five days later.

Rahul has been the team’s in-form batter in the ongoing tour, scoring 235 runs from six innings at an impressive average of 47.

The elegant right-hander has so far struck two half-centuries and is set to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in the fourth Test.

Overall, he is the second highest scorer in the marquee series behind Australia’s swashbuckling middle-order batter Travis Head, who has already smashed two hundreds.

Battling through multiple rain interruptions, Rahul held firm with a vital knock of 84 in India’s first innings of the third Test in Adelaide, the innings going a long way in helping India to save the match.

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