Ashish Ranjan
Deandra Dottin ruled out: Gujarat Giants received a major setback ahead of their campaign opener against Mumbai Indians after West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin was ruled out of the WPL 2023. Dottin is recovering from a medical situation and has not yet regained her fitness. Dottin was purchased at auction by Giants for INR 60 lakh after bidding began at INR 50 lakh.
Australian Kim Garth has been named as her replacement in the squad. The right-hand batter had gone unsold at the auction last month. She was part of the Australia side that won the T20 World Cup in South Africa at the time of the auction.
Before the World Cup, Garth only played two warm-up games, one of which was against her previous team, Ireland. She recently relocated to Australia and inked a three-year contract with the Melbourne Stars of the Women’s Big Bash League after completing the necessary paperwork (WBBL). On Friday, she joined the Giants’ practise squad.
Saturday evening at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, the Giants face the Mumbai Indians in the first match of the WPL. Beth Mooney, who was named Player of the Match in the World Cup final for her immaculate 74 off 53 balls, will lead them.
Each of the five teams will play each other twice over the course of the 22-game season before two semi-finals determine the top two teams for the March 27 championship game. In its inaugural season, five teams—Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and UP Warriorz—spent lavishly to acquire the finest international and domestic players.
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Gujarat Giants Full Squad: Beth Mooney (c), Ashleigh Gardner, Sophia Dunkley, Annabel Sutherland, Harleen Deol, Kim Garth, Sneh Rana, S Meghana, Georgia Wareham, Mansi Joshi, D Hemalatha, Monica Patel, Tanuja Kanwer, Sushma Verma, Hurley Gala, Ashwani Kumari, Parunika Sisodia and Shabnam Shakil.
