Rachael Haynes appointed Gujarat Giants head coach ahead of WPL 2023

Former Australia batter Rachael Haynes has been appointed head coach of Gujarat Giants ahead of the maiden Women's premier League (WPL) edition, the franchise has announced. Her backroom staff will include Nooshin Al Khadeer as bowling coach while former India head coach Tushar Arothe will don the role batting coach. Nooshin most recently was the head coach of the India Women Under-19 side that lifted the U-19 T20 World Cup in South Africa.

Meanwhile, Gavan Twining will be the team's fielding coach. 

The Giants had previously roped in former India captain Mithali Raj as the team's mentor. Speaking of the appointments, Mithali said, “The likes of Rachael Haynes, Nooshin Al Khadeer, Tushar Arothe, and Gavan Twining will certainly take the performance of the team notches up.” 

“Not only have they carved a niche for themselves in their roles, but their stories of resilience will be an inspiration for the team. Their combined strengths will enable Adani Sportsline’s Gujarat Giants to give their best performance on the ground at the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League, which will inspire several aspiring women athletes."

Haynes has had a glittering international career having won six world titles with Australia and was also the vice-captain of the side from 2017 till her retirement last year. The southpaw has played over 160 international matches across all three formats for Australia, scoring in excess of 3,500 runs for her country.

“The Women’s Premier League is such an exciting addition to the cricket landscape. The opportunity to be involved in the inaugural season with the Adani Sportline owned Gujarat Giants and work with the brilliant Mithali Raj is something I’m really looking forward to," Haynes said.

"We have formed a wonderful coaching team, with Nooshin Al Khadeer, Tushar Arothe and Gavan Twining, who will be bringing on board their rich experience which will help the team to play an exciting brand of cricket which our fans will enjoy watching” said Rachael Haynes." 

The player auction for the five-team event is expected to take place in Mumbai on February 13, following the conclusion of the International League T20 (ILT20) in the UAE where a few owners are currently occupied given that they have teams participating there.