WPL, Rachael Haynes named head coach of Gujarat Giants: Details
Former Australian women's cricket team batter Rachael Haynes has been named the head coach of the Women's Premier League (WPL) team Gujarat Giants. Nooshin Al Khadeer, Tushar Arothe and Gavan Twining will serve the team as the bowling, batting and fielding coach, respectively. The Ahmedabad-based franchise earlier roped in Mithali Raj as the team's mentor and advisor. Here are further details.
Why does this story matter?
Haynes, who retired from all forms of cricket last year, is one of the finest batters to have served the Australia women's cricket team. She won six world titles with the Aussies and was the vice-captain of the team from 2017 to 2022. While Al Khadeer is a former Indian women's cricketer, Tushar Arothe made a mark in the men's domestic circuit.
A look at the official statement
"The likes of Rachael Haynes, Nooshin Al Khadeer, Tushar Arothe, and Gavan Twining will certainly take the performance of the team notches up," Raj said in a statement released by the franchise. "Not only have they carved a niche for themselves in their roles, but their stories of resilience will [also] be an inspiration for the team."
A look at Haynes' international career
Haynes, a left-handed batter, featured in six Tests, 77 ODIs, and 84 T20Is. She slammed 383, 2,585, and 850 runs in these formats, respectively. Haynes also has two WODI centuries to her name, with her highest score of 130 coming against England in the 2022 Women's World Cup. Haynes, also a left-arm medium-pacer bowler, snapped up 13 international wickets.
Second-highest run-scorer of 2022 World Cup
Haynes played her last ODI in the 2022 Women's World Cup. She was the second-highest run-scorer after Alyssa Healy. The left-handed batter racked up 497 runs from nine matches at an incredible average of 62.12. Haynes finished with a strike rate of 82.56. Healy topped the tally with 509 runs. The former also slammed a century (130 vs England Women).
Al Khadeer guided India U-19 to Women's WC
Al Khadeer, who was an off-spinner, played five Tests, 78 ODIs and two T20Is. She finished with 115 wickets at the highest level. The tally includes an ODI five-wicket haul. Notably, she was the coach of the Indian team that won the Women's Under-19 World Cup last month. Al Khadeer also mentored Supernovas to glory in the Women's T20 Challenge 2022.
Here are Arothe's stats
Arothe, a former batting all-rounder from Baroda, played 114 First-Class and 51 List-A matches. He scored 6,105 runs and scalped 225 wickets in red-ball cricket. In the 50-over format, he owns 1,037 runs and 30 wickets. He was also the head coach of the India women's team for just over a year in 2017-18. He stepped down following reports of differences with some players.
Twining has been a coach in the Australian circuit
As far as the fielding coach Twinning is concerned, he has been a part of the coaching circuit in Australia for a while now. He recently served New South Wales women's side as the head coach in the Australian domestic set-up.
WPL likely to begin on March 4
As per ESPNcricinfo, the inaugural WPL will get underway a week after the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023. The competition is expected to be played from March 4 to 24. The window for the WPL has to be adjusted between the WC and men's IPL. As per the plan, five teams will play a total of 22 matches in the tournament.
WPL player auction to take place in early February
The squads for the inaugural WPL will be picked via a player auction. The bidding event will take place in the second week of February. As per Cricbuzz, the BCCI has called for both the capped and uncapped cricketers to register online to enter the Player Auction Register. The deadline for this was set for January 26.
