Gujarat is one of the five franchises that have acquired a team for the inaugural edition of the Indian Women’s T20 League. The franchise is different from the Gujarat IPL team as they have two different owners. The Gujarat Giants will be making their mark in the franchised-based T20 league in the upcoming season of the Indian Women’s T20 League. Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh are the only teams that are not owned by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises.
The Gujarat team is an Ahmedabad-based Women’s T20 franchise, which is owned by Adani Group. The group has already made its foray into sports by owning an Indian Kabaddi League team Gujarat Giants and an International T20 League team Gulf Giants The Adani Group spent a whopping ₹1289 crore in order to secure the ownership rights of the Gujarat team, making them the highest bidder for a team for the upcoming Indian Women’s T20 League 2023.
Ahead of the Inaugural season of the Indian Women’s T20 League, the Gujarat team has left no stone unturned to make things in their favour. The Adani Group-owned franchise is one of the five franchises alongside Uttar Pradesh, Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai to have bought a Women’s IPL team. Ahead of the auction, Gujarat Giants formed a coaching staff to oversee the progress of the team in the upcoming Indian Women’s T20 League 2023. Former Australia women’s vice-captain Rachael Haynes has been appointed as the head coach of the Gujarat Team while former India women’s captain Mithali Raj will be mentoring the team. Former Baroda batter Tushar Arothe is the batting coach while Nooshin Al Khadeer has been appointed as the bowling coach.
The Gujarat team picked up a strong squad with an aim of winning the Indian Women’s T20 League trophy in the first season of the tournament. The franchise has spent ₹ 11.95 crore to build the squad of 18 members, with just 5 lakhs remaining in their purse at the end of the auction. Gujarat broke the bank to acquire the services of A. Gardner for 3.2 crore, making her the second costliest buy at the auction. The Ahmedabad-based franchise also made bids for B. Mooney (2 crores), Sneh Rana (75 lakhs), S. Dunckley (60 lakhs), H. Deol (40 lakhs), A. Sutherland (70 lakhs) and others for the inaugural season of the Indian Women’s T20 League. Gujarat has not appointed its captain of the team.
Gujarat will look to make its mark by lifting the Indian Women’s T20 League in the first season itself. The team has a good mixture of experienced and youngsters. All the players are playing in the tournament for the first time but can spring a surprise if they dominate the season. Having a star-studded coaching staff and some highly talented players at Gujarat’s disposal, the trophy could be well within their sights.
Narendra Modi Stadium (formerly Motera Stadium) has been the home ground for Gujarat-based teams. However, the Gujarat women’s team won’t be getting home advantage in the upcoming Indian Women’s T20 League season as all the matches will be played at two venues in Mumbai – Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium. Gujarat will begin its campaign against Mumbai in the season opener on 4th March at DY Patil Stadium. Gujarat will play two matches against each of the four teams in the inaugural season of the Indian Women’s T20 League.
Gujarat’s Squad for Indian Women’s T20 League 2023: A. Gardner, B. Mooney, S. Dunkley, A.Sutherland, H. Deol, D. Dottin, S. Rana, S. Meghana, G. Wareham, M. Joshi, D. Hemalatha, M. Patel, T. Kanwer, S. Verma, H. Gala, P. Sisodia, S. Shakeel, A. Kumari
