Gujarat Giants have officially announced Beth Mooney as their captain for the Women's Premier League 2024 season and she will be assisted by Sneh Rana, who has been appointed as the team's vice-captain. Rana filled in for Mooney and led Giants in the previous season after the Aussie suffered a calf injury in the first game of the season and was ruled out of the entire season.
Notably, Rana struggled in the inaugural season of the WPL as Giants finished at the bottom of the points table with just two wins in eight games. They had the same number of points (four) as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) but still finished in the last position as their net run rate (NRR) of -2.220 was poor compared to RCB.
Giants made a few smart buys at the WPL 2024 auction. The inclusion of Kashvee Gautam, a bowling allrounder, gives them the balance that they lacked in the previous season.
They opted for Phoebe Litchfield, who won the ICC Women's Emerging Player of the Year 2023 and is trying to fill the void created by the exit of Rachael Haynes in Australia's batting order.
They also roped in veteran India batter Veda Krishnamurthy who has the potential to provide solidity to their batting order. Notably, the inclusion of Scotland's allrounder Kathryn Bryce provides them with the window to field five overseas players in the forthcoming season.
Giants will play their season opener against defending champions Mumbai Indians at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, February 25.
Gujarat Giants squad:
Ashleigh Gardner*, Beth Mooney*, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harleen Deol, Laura Wolvaardt*, Shabnam Shakil, Sneh Rana, Tanuja Kanwar, Phoebe Litchfield*, Meghna Singh, Trisha Poojitha, Kashvee Gautam, Priya Mishra, Lauren Cheatle*, Kathryn Bryce*, Mannat Kashyap, Veda Krishnamurthy, Tarannum Pathan. (* denotes overseas signings)
