The inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) also reckoned as the women's version of the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicked off in style on Saturday. Gujarat Giants took on Mumbai Indians in the season opener and it was an emphatic victory for the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team. Meanwhile, Gujarat Giants faced a massive blow in the very first game when their captain, Beth Mooney walked off the field with an injury.
The GG captain looked in pain while she was batting and had to be attended to by the physio. It turned out to be a knee injury for Mooney and the player could take no further part in the first game of the season. Things became worse when the Aussie star did not feature in the Giants’ second match as well. Sneh Rana led the side in Mooney’s absence and as it seems it is going to be the same way forward for GG.
As hinted by the Giants' head coach Rachel Haynes, Beth Mooney might get completely ruled out of WPL 2023. While talking to the commentators during the Giants’ match against UP Warriorz on Sunday, Haynes said that Mooney’s injury is not looking good and the management is mulling replacing her.
Notably, Gujarat Giants had spent a whopping 3.2 CR for securing the services of the Australia international. But things have not panned out as planned for the Giants. First, they lost to MI by a massive 143 runs and then Mooney is on the brink of getting ruled out. It will be interesting to see who replaces the star Aussie in the lineup.