WPL 2025: RCB draft in Garth, Graham as replacements; UP Warriorz bring in Chinelle Henry for Alyssa Healy 

by Sahil Jain
Sophie Devine, Kate Cross

The third season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) is around the corner and there are some injuries to key players. Sophie Devine and Kate Cross are unavailable for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). 

Devine is taking an indefinite break from all forms of cricket and thus, she opted out of the WPL 2025. The veteran New Zealand all-rounder has been an integral member of the RCB setup over the last couple of seasons, scoring 402 runs across 18 games while striking at 153.43 along with taking nine wickets at an economy rate of 8.37.  

Meanwhile, Cross was a part of the RCB squad last year but did not feature in a single game. The England pacer is struggling with a back injury which kept her out of the Women’s Ashes as well.  

The Australian duo of Heather Graham and Kim Garth have been named as replacements by RCB. This will be Graham’s maiden appearance in the WPL. She has played six internationals for Australia (one ODI and five T20Is). However, she has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket in Australia and in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). She scored 104 runs and took 13 wickets in 11 games in the 2024-25 season of the WBBL.  

On the other hand, Garth has played a total of 59 T20Is, 51 for Ireland and 8 for Australia and has returned with 49 wickets at an economy rate of 6.17. She was impressive in the Women’s Ashes recently, taking nine wickets across three formats. The Dublin-born pacer even played for the Gujarat Giants in the WPL 2023 and ended with 11 wickets in seven matches.  

Alyssa Healy ruled out of WPL 2025

Alyssa Healy has been ruled out due to a stress injury in her right foot. The Australia and UP Warriorz (UPW) captain played the ODI series in the Women’s Ashes before injuring herself. She missed the T20I series but played the only Test after passing a late fitness test. Healy has found herself on the sidelines quite a bit in the recent past due to injuries. She is looking to regain full fitness ahead of the all-important 2025 Women’s World Cup in India.

Thus, the 34-year-old has decided to opt out of the upcoming WPL 2025 and she will even miss the T20I series against New Zealand in March. Chinelle Henry has been named as Healy’s replacement.  

The West Indies seam-bowling all-rounder has played 49 ODIs and 62 T20Is in her career so far. It was her impressive outings against India that propelled her case. She struck 43 off 19 balls and took 1/14 from two overs in the third T20I against India in December before she stood out with 61 off 72 balls in the third ODI of the same tour. 

All three signings of Graham, Garth and Henry have been done at their respective base prices of INR 30 lakh. The WPL 2025 kicks off on the 14th of February with Gujarat Giants (GG) squaring off against the defending champions RCB.

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