WPL 2023: Delhi Capitals appoint Australia skipper Meg Lanning as Captain, Jemimah Rodrigues as her deputy

Add as a preferred source on Google

Mumbai, March 2: Women's Premier League franchise Delhi Capitals have on Thursday (March 2) appointed Australia batting legend Meg Lanning as their captain for the WPL 2023 season.

The franchise has announced Indian star Jemimah Rodrigues as vice-captain for the inaugural season. The Delhi Capitals CEO Dhiraj Malhotra made the announcements during a special team launch event in Mumbai.

Meg Lanning to lead Delhi in WPL 2023

One of the most successful cricketers of all time, Lanning has been a part of seven World Cup-winning campaigns with Australia - two ODI and five T20 World Cups. The top-order batter has also led Australia to an ODI World Cup victory in 2022 and four T20 World Cup titles in 2014, 2018, 2020 and 2023.

Speaking on her new role, Lanning said, "I feel proud to be a part of the Delhi Capitals and it's a huge honour for me to be named Captain. I am very much looking forward to bringing the team together and getting to know everyone. I can't wait to get started."

Jemimah gets a big responsibility

Meanwhile, Jemimah Rodrigues, who has scored over 1,700 runs in T20Is, said, "We've been dreaming about this tournament for a very long time. The entire Indian team got emotional while watching the Auction as the competition was finally happening. I am really looking forward to being part of the Delhi Capitals."

Furthermore, the Delhi Capitals introduced their squad for the Women's Premier League at the team launch event. The members of the squad, accompanied by girls from the Delhi Capitals Academy, were felicitated on stage by the Chairperson of the JSW Foundation - Sangita Jindal and Founder & Managing Director of Svamaan Financial Services - Anushree Jindal.

Speaking about the upcoming WPL season, Delhi Capitals CEO Dhiraj Malhotra said, "This has been a whirlwind time for us. We acquired the best cricketers and put together the right mix of players in the Auction. The IPL was a game-changer for global cricket and I firmly believe that the Women's Premier League will have the same impact."

Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals Head Coach Jonathan Batty said, "The quality of cricket in India is phenomenal. Our team has a good balance between youngsters such as Shafali Verma, who is just starting to make a name for herself and some really experienced players such as Meg Lanning."

The first batch of the Delhi Capitals women's team will take the field for the first time when they face Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday (March 5).

"It wasn't the easiest journey but that got the best out of me," said the 22-year-old cricketer while summing up her progress in an episode of 'Know Your Stars' show on JioCinema.

"Every day, my dad used to chuck 300 balls when I batted. I got to know this later, but my mom told me that he used to come back and his hand would be fully sore, he couldn't lift it. My mom would massage it every night. But he never told me, he just wanted me to get better and better," said Jemimah about her dad, Ivan Rodrigues', sacrifices.