As the third season of the Women’s Premier League approaches, the Adani Sportsline-owned Gujarat Giants are gearing up for their home debut at a new venue in Vadodara. On Thursday, the team held a press eventin Ahmedabad attended by Head Coach Michael Klinger, players Harleen Deol and Shabnam Shakil, and Adani Sportsline’s CBO, Sanjay Adesara.
Gujarat Giants also unveiled their jersey for WPL 2025, which is set to begin on February 14 and will be played across multiple venues, including Vadodara, Bengaluru, Lucknow, and Mumbai.
Addressing media at the event, Head Coach Michael Klinger laid down the ambitions for his team this season, aiming to win the ultimate prize this year.
Sharing insights into the team’s preparations, he said, “All the players are really excited. The overseas players will start arriving over the next day or two and then we can all start work together.”
“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.
Having missed the previous season due to injury, India all-rounder Harleen Deol also expressed her excitement to be back with the team, especially in Vadodara, where she has some fond memories.
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.”
Fresh from her second consecutive U19 World Cup triumph with Indian team, Shabnam Shakil, highlighted how being a part of the Gujarat Giants in the WPL has helped her in her growth 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.