WPL 2023: Gujarat Giants Rope in Rachael Haynes as Head Coach; Nooshin Al Khadeer and Tushar Arothe Join as Bowling and Batting Coaches

Rachael Haynes, who has played at the highest level for more than a decade, has won six world championships with the Australian team and was the vice-captain of the side from 2017-2022.

After roping in Mithali Raj as their mentor, the Women's Premier League (WPL) side Gujarat Giants have now brought in former Australian player Rachael Haynes as the head coach of the side. Giants have also announed the full support staff. The team's bowling coach will be the former Indian spinner, Nooshin Al Khadeer, while all-rounder Tushar Arothe will be the batting coach and Gavan Twining will be the team's fielding coach. "The likes of Rachael Haynes, Nooshin Al Khadeer, Tushar Arothe, and Gavan Twining will certainly take the performance of the team notches up," said Mithali Raj.

"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," added Mithali.

Rachael, who has played at the highest level for more than a decade, has won six world championships with the Australian team and was the vice-captain of the side from 2017-2022. The left-handed batter, who was an integral part of the very successful national set-up, is a veteran of 84 T20Is and played crucial roles in the Australian team’s championship winning campaigns at the 2018 and 2020 T20 World Cups. Rachael, who was part of the team that won 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, has also turned out for the Sydney Thunder in the Women’s Big Bash League, often leading the run scoring charts on her side.

“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. 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.

Nooshin, who made her debut for India when Mithali was already an integral part of the Indian women’s cricket team, is currently the coach of India U-19 Women’s team who recently emerged victorious at the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in South Africa. The former India off-break bowler, who bagged 100 wickets in ODIs, was the head coach of the Supernovas team last year, who won the 2022 Women's T20 Challenge.

Meanwhile, Tushar Arothe is well-known in the Indian cricket circles and has been coach of the Indian Women’s team. With Arothe at the helm, the Indian Women’s team reached the final of the ICC Women's World Cup in 2017. Arothe, who has a significant coaching experience in the domestic cricket genre, had also led the women’s team to the final of the 2018 Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup held in Malaysia.