Beth Mooney to lead Gujarat Giants in inaugural WPL, Sneh Rana named her deputy

Mumbai: Prolific Australia opener Beth Mooney was on Monday named as captain of the Gujarat Giants for the inaugural season of the Women's Premier League (WPL), starting March 4.

The explosive wicket-keeper batter had produced a match-winning 74-run knock in the title clash of the Women’s T20 World Cup against South Africa on Sunday and was adjudged the ‘player of the match’.

India all-rounder Sneh Rana will be Mooney's deputy.

“I am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead the Adani Gujarat Giants in the historic Women’s Premier League’s inaugural edition in 2023," Mooney said in a release.

“The squad is keen to get the ball rolling soon and put out an entertaining and effective brand of cricket in the debut season of WPL which will hopefully lead us to the trophy. It will be absolutely fantastic to have the likes of Sneh as my deputy and Mithali Raj, Rachael Haynes and Nooshin Al Khadeer as pivotal parts of the team," she added.

Mooney is one of the few batters in the Women’s T20 to have scored more than one hundred, her highest score being an unbeaten 117. She has also hit 18 half-centuries in the 83 T20 games she has played, scoring 2,350 runs.

Vice-captain Rana, an off-spinner, has previously turned out for Velocity in the Women’s T20 Challenge. She has played 25 games in T20Is, bagging 24 wickets with an economy rate of 6.21.

“Being the vice-captain of the Gujarat Giants is a huge responsibility and I am keenly looking forward to putting up a great show for the debut edition of the Women’s Premier League,” said Rana.

“Along with captain Beth Mooney, I hope to lead a strong and talented squad during the tournament.