Flexibility and adaptability as a player is really important: UP Warriorz head coach Jon Lewis
Nov 08, 2024
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 8 : 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 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 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," Lewis was quoted in a release from UP Warriorz as saying.
Players Retained: Alyssa Healy, Uma Chetry, Kiran Navgire, Shweta Sehrawat, Vrinda Dinesh, Deepti Sharma, Chamari Athapaththu, Grace Harris, Poonam Khemnar, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Ecclestone, Anjali Sarvani, Gouher Sultana, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Saima Thakor.
