Star Australian batter Alyssa Healy, who was bought by the UP Warriorz during the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 auction, has been chosen to captain her side ahead of the likes of Deepti Sharma, England's Sophie Ecclestone, and Healy's compatriot Grace Harris.
"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," Healy said in a statement issued by Warriorz.
"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."
The veteran Australian wicketkeeper-batter has won five T20 World Cups — 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2020. With a strike rate of 128, she has 2445 T20I runs to her name, including one century and 14 half-centuries.
Healy was the stand-in skipper for Australia during their T20I series vs India when main captain Meg Lanning took a break from the game. Healy has also captained Sydney Sixers in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL).
"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," Rajesh Sharma, managing director of the UP franchise's owners Capri Globals, said.
"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 the UP," he added.
The other overseas players in the Warriorz squad are Tahlia McGrath (Australia), Shabnim Ismail (South Africa) and Lauren Bell (England). Some of the other prominent Indian names in the team are Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Devika Vaidya, Anjali Sarvani, and Kiran Navgire.
The Warriorz side will be coached by England's Jon Lewis, with Anju Jain as the assistant coach and Ashley Noffke as the bowling coach. World Cup winner Lisa Sthalekar will be the team mentor.
Warriorz will begin their WPL campaign on March 5, Sunday, against Gujarat Giants at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
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.
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