England's experienced pacer Kate Cross pulled out of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2025 after struggling with a disc bulge which led to her missing the Ashes 2024-25. A week ahead of the WPL 2025 opener, Kate expressed that she had to make the difficult call to recover mentally and physically.
“My decision to withdraw from the WPL was a difficult one, but I need to take the time to rehab my injury fully and prioritise my mental and physical well-being ahead of a big summer," Cross said in an Instagram post.
“I’m gutted to be missing my time with RCB this year but wish @smriti_mandhana and the girls all the luck in defending the trophy! I’ll be supporting everyone from back home," she added.
RCB replied to Cross' Instagram post and commented, "We can't wait to see you back on the field, Crossy! Wishing you speedy recovery."
In the last season, Cross did not play a single game for RCB. She is yet to make her WPL debut.
Apart from Cross, New Zealand's Sophie Devine pulled out of the tournament as well. While Cross warmed the benches, Devine played a crucial role in RCB's title-winning run. The White Ferns player cited mental health reasons behind skipping the entire season.
RCB team management had to make a couple of last-minute changes. They replaced Cross and Devine with Australia's Heather Graham and Kim Garth for the upcoming season. The franchise roped them in for Rs 30 lakh each.
The third edition of the WPL will commence on February 14. Defending champions RCB will go up against Gujarat Giants in the opening clash. Giants made a change to the leadership. They named Ashleigh Gardner as their captain after finishing at the bottom of the table for first two seasons.
RCB's WPL 2025 squad
Smriti Mandhana (captain), Sabbineni Meghana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Wareham, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Heather Graham, Renuka Singh, Charlie Dean, Ekta Bisht, Kim Garth, Kanika Ahuja, Danni Wyatt (traded), Prema Rawat, Joshitha VJ, Raghvi Bist, Jagravi Pawar.