Gujarat Giants have released a statement regarding the outbursts made by their star West Indian cricketer Deandra Dottin, who was left out of her team's first match of the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023 campaign against Mumbai Indians. On Saturday, the club announced that a 'medical situation' was the reason behind Dottin's absence from the tournament.
But then, Dottin dropped a bomb saying that she was actually not sick, and was completely fine. Dottin tweeted, "I really appreciate all the messages but truth be told I’m recovering from nothing but the Holy Ghost anointing thank you 🙏🏾 #GodIsGood #GodIsInControl."
Responding to this, the Giants have responded with a statement that said, "Deandra is a world-class player and a wonderful signing for the franchise. Unfortunately, we were unable to obtain a medical clearance before the defined deadline for this season, such clearances are a requirement of all players participating in the WPL. We look forward to seeing her return to the field soon. Subject to the clearance of her medical report, she will be part of the Gujarat Giants squad in the upcoming seasons."
Her absence was sorely missed against the Mumbai Indians, with the team suffering a debilitating 143-run loss in their opening game. They were hampered by an injury to their captain Beth Mooney, as Harmanpreet Kaur's half-century led her team to the massive win.
Sent into bat by rival skipper Beth Mooney, MI were off to a flying start despite losing Yastika Bhatia in the third over. But Hayley Matthew accelerated for Mumbai Indians while getting solid support from Nat Sciver. Matthew belted a robust 31-ball 47 while Sciver scored 23 runs in 18 balls.
However, it was Harmanpreet who entertained the Navi Mumbai crowd to the full hilt by taking the game by storm and giving everyone a glimpse inaugural IPL 2008 season's first match where Brendon McCullum set the stage on fire with his rollicking knock.
Harmanpreet rode on a 65-run onslaught to bag an incredible feat of scoring seven consecutive boundaries. Meanwhile, Amelia Kerr cracked a whirlwind 25-ball 45 to help MI cross the 200-run mark.
