WPL 2025: Alyssa Healy opts to skip 3rd season to recover from foot injury

Alyssa Healy, who captained the UP Warriorz in the first two Women’s Premier League (WPL) seasons, announced that she would not be participating in the next season of the franchise league after Australia’s decisive victory over England in the one-off Test match at the storied Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday, February 1.

With Beth Mooney taking wicketkeeping responsibilities, the Australian skipper played the one-off Test as a specialist hitter. Despite missing additional games prior to that including the T20I series, she did manage to keep wickets in the ODI series. The 34-year-old’s right foot has now sustained a stress injury that will prevent her from playing in WPL 2025.

The wicketkeeper-batter has been dealing with a persistent foot issue that got worse during last year’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and India’s ODI tour of Australia in December.

Prior to the ODI World Cup in India later this year, Alyssa Healy stated that her goal is to fully recuperate after Australia became the first side to complete a Women’s Ashes whitewash.

She made no mention of her availability following the high-profile event, though.

Unfortunately for me, I’ve been up for a few months. Although I’m a little disappointed by that, I’m also thrilled to have some downtime and attempt to take care of my body. However, Healy declared after Australia’s 16-nil victory in the Women’s Ashes, “I’m looking forward to sticking my feet in an ice bucket.”

“You immediately return to playing, but then another issue arises. So, I’m just going to look at a few things and see how I can improve, perhaps become a little more disciplined in some areas, and make sure I’m ready to play, especially for the ODI World Cup. Many of the girls will be under a lot of stress because they won’t be playing much cricket in the winter. Hence, simply getting everything in order for it. But for a while, I’m excited to put my feet in an ice bucket,” she continued.

At the BCA Stadium in Vadodara, the Gujarat Giants will play the reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on February 14 to kick off WPL 2025.