WPL 2026: Gujarat Giants confirm Ashleigh Gardner as captain for upcoming season
Gujarat Giants have retained Ashleigh Gardner as their captain for the fourth edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL). The tournament is set to commence on January 9, with the Giants scheduled to play their opening game the next day against UP Warriorz.
Gujarat Giants have retained Australia all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner as their captain for the upcoming edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL). She was the leader of the pack in the previous season as well and led the side to the Eliminator as the Giants finished in third place with four wins from eight matches.
Gardner will be keen on leading the team to glory this time around, as the team signed some of the best players in the shortest format at the auction. As for the all-rounder from Australia, she is one of the best players for the Giants, having scored 567 runs in 25 innings at a strike rate of 141.75 with five fifties to her name. She has also picked up 25 wickets in as many matches in her WPL career so far.
WPL 2025 was the best for her especially with the bat, as she led from the front to amass 243 runs in nine innings at an impeccable strike rate of 164.18 and also accounted for eight wickets with the ball. However, her recent form in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) was not great as the 28-year-old scored only 143 runs in nine innings at a mediocre strike rate of 111.71.
Gujarat Giants have a strong squad for WPL 2026
Nevertheless, Gujarat Giants have decided to back arguably their best player for the upcoming season. The franchise also made some interesting signings at the mega auction. They got New Zealand legend Sophie Devine for just Rs 2 crore while also securing the services of Georgia Wareham and Danielle Wyatt. They had already retained Beth Mooney and Gardner and used Right to Match card options for Kashvee Gautam and Bharti Fulmali.
Renuka Singh was their biggest signing among Indian players while Titas Sadhu and Ayushi Soni were among talented picks.
Gujarat Giants squad for WPL 2026: Ashleigh Gardner (C), Bharti Fulmali, Danielle Wyatt-Hodge, Kanika Ahuja, Sophie Devine, Kashvee Gautam, Kim Garth, Anushka Sharma, Ayushi Soni, Yastika Bhatia, Beth Mooney, Shivan Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Tanuja Kanwar, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Georgia Wareham and Happy Kumari
Also Read