Alyssa Healy, the Australia keeper-opener, has been named the captain of the WPL franchise UP Warriorz for the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL 2023). UP Warriorz signed Healy for Rs 70 lakhs at the inaugural auction in February.
Warriorz will begin their WPL campaign on March 5, Sunday, against Gujarat Giants at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai as the WPL 2023 will start on March 4 and the final will be played on March 26.
Alyssa Healy is considered to be one of the most lethal openers in the world and 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.
She also holds the record for the most runs scored in an innings in Women’s T20Is with an unbeaten 61-ball 148 against Sri Lanka.
"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 make a splash once things get going. We have a good mix of experience and youth along with the 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," Alyssa Healy said in a statement released by Warriorz.
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The UP Warriorz is coached by England’s Jon Lewis and 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.
Owners 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 five other overseas players in the Warriorz squad are Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Shabnim Ismail, Grace Harris, and Lauren Bell. They also have Indian stars like Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Devika Vaidya, Anjali Sarvani, and Kiran Navgire.
UP Warriorz squad:
Alyssa Healy (capt), 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.
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
