Gujarat Giants appointed Sneh Rana as captain as Beth Mooney has been ruled out of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023. South Africa batter Laura Wolvaardt replaced Mooney in the Giants squad.
Wolvaardt, who was featuring in the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Women’s League exhibition matches, was released by her ‘Super Women’ team on Wednesday. South Africa captain Sune Luus will replace her in the tournament.
Wolvaardt had struck an unbeaten 53 for the Super Women in her only appearance for the side in Rawalpindi on Wednesday. While Gujarat is yet to announce the signing, the PCB had confirmed that Wolvaardt had left the squad.
In her statement, Wolvaardt said, “I want to thank the PCB for this opportunity to play in the Women’s League exhibition matches. It has been an incredible short journey, but I have loved the experience. The team has been amazing and I have felt so welcoming. I wish both sides the best of luck with rest of the series. I am sure both sides will strive hard and they will do well and learn a lot from the experience they will get from the matches. I cannot wait to return to Pakistan in September with the South Africa’s national women’s team and learning more about this amazing country.”
Mooney had suffered a knee injury during the tournament opener against Mumbai Indians last week. Giants were chasing a mammoth 208-run total against Mumbai when Mooney appeared to hurt her knee while attempting to take a single in the first over.
“I was really looking forward to the maiden WPL season... but unfortunately injuries are part and parcel of the sport and I am gutted to be missing the remainder of the season,” Mooney said in a statement.
“I will be keeping a close eye on the team’s performance from afar and will be rooting for them every single day,” she said about Gujarat, which is fourth in the five-team league after one win and two losses.
“Though I will be away from the field of play for the rest of the season, I am looking forward to coming back stronger, fitter and I will definitely be hungrier next season.”
The Australia batter retired hurt and Giants eventually lost the match by a massive 143 runs.
Meanwhile, Wolvaardt is coming on the back of a successful T20 World Cup campaign at home in South Africa where she stood up with half-centuries against England and Australia in the semifinal and final, respectively. Wolvaardt had finished as the tournament’s highest run-getter with 230 runs. Wolvaardt was unsold in the WPL 2023 auction in February where she was listed at a base price of INR 30 lakh.
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