A cricketer may have planned a jam-packed itinerary that would be undertaken over a comprehensive period of time. However, sport does not follow the aforesaid rule. With competitive cricket taking place over a majority section of the playing calendar, players are bound to get injured that takes them away from the 22 yards.
Injuries are heartbreaking and disrupt the uplifting progress of a player over a period of time. Equally disappointing for the teams, it becomes a tough job for the management to fight an equally abled player who could fill in the shoes of the missing athlete. As we’ve officially entered the week of WPL 2025, there are clouds of injury concerns for franchises but have named their replacements so as to help them acclimatize to the dressing room atmosphere as soon as possible.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru:
IN – Charlie Dean, OUT – Sophie Molineux
The first team to sign an injury replacement, title-holders Royal Challengers Bengaluru announced that England’s spin-bowling all-rounder Charlie Dean would replace Sophie Molineux. Molineux encountered a knee injury during the tenth season of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) while leading Melbourne Renegades to their first-ever title win. The injury got more serious during the following ODI series against India, forcing her to miss Australia’s tour of New Zealand as well as the mega Ashes series.
The star all-rounder played a clinical role for her champion side in the second season of the WPL. She picked 12 wickets in 10 matches with a majestic economy rate of 7.31. In the final as well, she was a standout performer with figures of 3/20 and broke the backbone of the Capitals’ team. With over 100 WBBL appearances and extensive domestic and international experience, Molineux’s absence is a major setback for RCB’s campaign.
However, the inclusion of Charlie Dean has helped fill the void. The 24-year-old off-spinner has a phenomenal record, picking up 122 wickets in 78 international matches across all formats. In T20Is, she has struck 46 times in 36 games with a tidy economy of 6.91, while also proving to be a dependable lower-order batter.
IN – Heather Graham, OUT – Sophie Devine
The list keeps getting worse for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru as White Ferns’ star Sophie Devine had opted out of the WPL to prioritize her well-being. According to a statement from New Zealand Cricket (NZC), Devine came to the decision ‘after receiving professional advice’. She even walked out of 2024-25 Super Smash – New Zealand’s domestic T20 competition – midway through the tournament.
Replacement Graham is not new to the competition and played for the eventual winners Mumbai Indians in the first season. Renowned for her T20I hat-trick against India, Graham is among Australia’s most trusted domestic players. A dependable force in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), she has taken 141 wickets in 130 matches at a rate of 7.16. Equally responsible with the bat, she has notched up 1,560 runs across 110 innings.
IN – Kim Garth, OUT- Kate Cross
The Challengers would’ve been recovering from the big injury blows, but Kate Cross too announced her withdrawal from the upcoming season citing “personal reasons” for her absence. The defending champions signed Australian pacer Kim Garth as a replacement for the 33-year-old, the former being part of the Gujarat Giants squad in the first season of play.
Garth has showcased her prowess in 51 T20Is, picking up 49 wickets at an excellent economy rate of 6.17. In her debut WPL season, she delivered an all-round performance for the Giants, claiming 11 wickets at an economy of 7.72 in seven matches while making key contributions with the bat in hand.
IN – Nuzhat Parween, OUT – Asha Sobhana
The string of injuries continues for the reigning champions as they’ve suffered another blow ahead of the season-opener of the third season. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru have signed wicket-keeper Nuzhat Parween as a replacement for injured spinner Asha Sobhana. Parween, the wicketkeeper from Railways, has represented India in 5 T20Is and will join RCB for her base price of Rs 30 lakh. Sobhana played a crucial role in helping the Challengers win their maiden title in 2024. The 33-year-old bagged 12 wickets from 10 games and formed a perfect partnership with purple cap holder Shreyanka Patil to choke the opposition batters from scoring in the middle overs.
IN – Sneh Rana, OUT – Shreyanka Patil
Putting an end to all speculations, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru have named a replacement for the injured Shreyanka Patil. Spin-bowling all-rounder Sneh Rana will replace Patil for the 2025 season, as the team management made the call on Saturday. Shreyanka played a vital role in helping RCB win the elusive cup in 2024 and secured the Purple Cap with 13 wickets to her name. In her WPL career, she has taken 19 wickets in 15 matches but will unfortunately miss the entire campaign due to injury.
Her replacement, Rana, primarily a spinner, has been a part of the Gujarat Giants and has played 12 matches. The 30-year-old has claimed 6 wickets in 11 innings so far and will look to improve in a new franchise. In international outings, Rana has taken 24 wickets in 25 matches, with best bowling figures of 3/9, while maintaining an impressive economy of 6.21.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru squad for WPL 2025:
Smriti Mandhana (C), Sabbineni Meghana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Wareham, Shreyanka Patil, Nuzhat Parween, Heather Graham, Renuka Singh, Charlie Dean, Ekta Bisht, Kim Garth, Kanika Ahuja, Danni Wyatt, Prema Rawat, Joshitha VJ, Raghvi Bist, Jagravi Pawar
UP Warriorz:
IN- Chinelle Henry, OUT- Alyssa Healy
Skipper Alyssa Healy has also been forced to miss WPL 2025 on account of frequent injury setbacks from which she has been unable to fully recover from. Deepti Sharma will wear the armband and is shouldered with huge responsibility going forward in the third season with Chinelle Henry being announced as a replacement.
Having featured in 111 international matches, Henry has amassed 1,032 runs and picked up 54 wickets. In T20Is, she has contributed 473 runs in 53 innings while claiming 22 wickets in 44 bowling outings. By electing not to hire a wicketkeeper-batter or a stylish opening batter as a like-to-like replacement, the Warriorz will have their eyes on Chamari Athapaththu to walk the talk for the top order.
IN – Georgia Voll, OUT – Chamari Athapaththu
UP Warriorz have signed Georgia Voll as a replacement for Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu who is all but set to board the flight to New Zealand as the Lankans take on the White Ferns in an away series, commencing from the 4th of March. Notably, Athapaththu did not feature in as many as 5 games played by the Warriorz where they have ended 3 times on the losing side.
Australia’s Georgia Voll has been signed at 30 lakhs. The 21-year-old is one of the shining stars in the Australian cricketing setup as she finished as the leading run-scorer in her debut series, played against India last year. She proved her mettle in the 2024-25 Women’s Big Bash League, as she made records by being the second-highest run-getter of the Sydney Thunder’s with 330 runs from 12 games, at a strike rate of 144.72.
UP Warriorz squad for WPL 2025:
Chinelle Henry, Anjali Sarvani, Deepti Sharma (C), Grace Harris, Kiran Navgire, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shweta Sehrawat, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Vrinda Dinesh, Saima Thakor, Poonam Khemnar, Gouher Sultana, Georgia Voll, Uma Chetry, Arushi Goel, Kranti Goud, Alana King
Mumbai Indians:
IN – Parunika Sisodia, OUT – Pooja Vastrakar
Inaugural champions Mumbai Indians have picked Parunika Sisodia as a replacement for injured all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar for the season of 2025. Under-19 World Cup winning player Sisodia was a standout performer during the high-pressure semifinal game against England as she delivered a match-winning performance by picking up 3 wickets at an economy rate of 5.2 runs an over. She joins MI for Rs 10 lakh.
Mumbai Indians WPL 2025 Squad:
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