The UP Warriorz have named Deepti Sharma as their vice-captain for the inaugural season of IPL for the women’s starting March. Deepti would serve as deputy to Alyssa Healy in the tournament. The former was bought by UP Warriorz in the player auction for a whopping Rs. 2.6 crore. Deepti has been a mainstay all-rounder for Team India of late.

“As someone from Uttar Pradesh, I am not only extremely happy to be part of the UP Warriorz team but also delighted to be named the vice-captain for the team,” said Deepti in a statement.

Deepti became the first ever Indian cricketer to complete 100 wickets in T20 Internationals. She achieved the mark during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Group B match against the West Indies at Newlands, Cape Town.

Hailing from Agra in Uttar Pradesh, Deepti was among the most wanted Indian players at the inaugural player auction. Deepti, 25, a crucial part of the Indian women’s team set-up, bagged six wickets in five matches as India reached the semifinals of the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.

UP Warriorz is coached by England’s Jon Lewis, with Anju Jain as the assistant coach, while former Australian cricketers Ashley Noffke is the bowling coach and 4-time World Champion Lisa Sthalekar is the team’s mentor. The UP Warriorz will open their campaign on March 5, with the second game of the day when they face the Gujarat Giants at the DY Patil Stadium.