Ahmedabad : With the third season of the Women’s Premier League on the horizon, the Gujarat Giants, owned by Adani Sportsline, are preparing for their home debut at a new venue in Vadodara. On Thursday, the team hosted a press event in Ahmedabad featuring Head Coach Michael Klinger, players Harleen Deol and Shabnam Shakil, as well as Sanjay Adesara, CBO of Adani Sportsline.
The Gujarat Giants have revealed their jersey for the upcoming WPL 2025, which is scheduled to kick off on February 14. The matches will take place at several venues, including Vadodara, Bengaluru, Lucknow, and Mumbai.
During the event, Head Coach Michael Klinger spoke to the media about his team’s aspirations for the season, expressing their goal to secure the ultimate prize this year.
Providing insights into the team’s preparations, he stated, “All the players are incredibly enthusiastic. The international players will begin arriving within the next couple of days, and then we can all collaborate effectively.”
“We’re certainly here to compete really hard. We’re looking forward to playing some really strong cricket and hopefully qualify for the finals. We’re not shying away from it, that’s going to be our aim this season. I feel we’ve got the team to do it, in terms of a few additions, but also one of the things I was really proud of is, since the last WPL season that we’ve had, is that six of our players playing in the A team, and some someone of them playing for the first time playing in the senior team. So, just with those experiences and exposure to the top-level cricket and other franchise cricket as well. That’s going to hold us in good stead,” he added.
After missing the last season due to injury, India all-rounder Harleen Deol shared her enthusiasm about rejoining the team, particularly in Vadodara, a place filled with cherished memories for her.
She mentioned, “I missed the last season because of an injury, so I am even more keen to play this edition. I’ve got a lovely memory of scoring my maiden ton in Vadodara, but in cricket, you have start from zero every day. If you’ve scored runs before that doesn’t mean you have those runs in your pocket already. So, I’m very excited to be playing there for this tournament, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Following her second consecutive U19 World Cup victory with the Indian team, Shabnam Shakil emphasized how her experience with the Gujarat Giants in the WPL has contributed to her development as a player.
She said, “There have been plenty of learnings with the exposure to experienced players and foreign players. They helped me a lot, especially in season two when I got opportunities to play four matches. I would say that the Gujarat Giants and the WPL gave me the platform to have a lot of experience and exposure to express myself.”
Mr Sanjay Adesara, Chief Business Officer, Adani Sportsline , also put forward the expectations for the team this season. He mentioned, “The expectation is straight and simple- as a team, Gujarat Giants will try and give the best and give a great cricket experience to our fans out there, not only in Gujarat, but across the country and across the world. That’s the very simple expectation what we have brought for the home audience. It’s the first time we will be playing in front of our home crowd. So, that in itself is enough excitement for all of us.”
Gujarat Giants will take on the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the WPL 2025 opener on February 14, 2025 at BCA Stadium in Vadodara.
