WPL 2025: Captain Alyssa Healy opts out in body blow for UP Warriorz

WPL 2025: The UP Warriorz would not have Alyssa Healy for the upcoming Women's Premier League as she pulled out of the tournament. The Warriorz will be up against Gujarat Giants in their opening game.

In Short

• Alyssa Healy has had concerns with injuries in the last three months
• Healy recently missed the T20I leg of the Women’s Ashes
• On Saturday, Australia won the Women’s Ashes 16-0

Alyssa Healy opted out of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025, leaving the UP Warriorz with less than 14 days to name their new skipper. Healy confirmed on Saturday after the conclusion of the Women’s Ashes that she would not be a part of the upcoming tournament, meaning that the Warriorz will have a new skipper for the first time in three seasons.

Healy has had his fair share of troubles with injuries in the last three months or so. She missed a couple of matches in the Women’s T20 World Cup due to an injury to her right foot. Thereafter, she was ruled out of the latter half of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) after she sustained a knee injury.

Healy also missed the T20I leg of the Women’s Ashes due to an injury to her right foot. During her time while recovering, Healy was also seen wearing a moon boot, which she got rid of before the Melbourne Test. The veteran said that she needed to take care of her body.

"Unfortunately for me, I've got a couple of months feet up. I'm pretty bummed by that, but at the same time elated to have a little bit of downtime and try and get my body right. But I'm looking forward to sticking my feet in an ice bucket,” Healy said after Australia won the Day-Night Test by an innings and 122 runs.

‘Frustrating 18 months’

On Saturday, Healy captained Australia to a historic 16-0 win against England in the Women’s Ashes. Healy said that during her time off from the game, she would be looking to get herself back in shape with the ODI World Cup on Indian soil knocking on the door.

"It's been a really frustrating probably 18 months for me ... you get yourself right, back playing, and something else goes wrong. (I'm) going to have a look at a couple of things and how I can be better, maybe a bit more disciplined in some areas, and make sure I'm right to go in particular for that ODI World Cup,” Healy added.

With Healy unavailable, Uma Chetry is likely to take the wicketkeeping gloves for the Warriorz. Chamari Athapaththu, Tahlia McGrath and Deepti Sharma are most likely to be the frontrunners for captaincy. The Warriorz will be up against Gujarat Giants in their opening game on February 16 at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara.