"From UP. For UP"- UP Warrioz announce Deepti Sharma as vice-captain for WPL 2023

UP Warriorz have named Deepti Sharma as their vice-captain for Women's Premier League 2023. The Indian all-rounder will join captain Alyssa Healy in the leadership group of the Lucknow-based franchise.

Sharma was among the top contenders to become the captain of the UP Warriorz team. However, franchise officials preferred Australia's Alyssa Healy over her. Earlier today, they named Sharma as Healy's deputy.

Making the big announcement on Twitter, UP Warriorz wrote:

"From UP. For UP. Our Warrior vice-captain, Deepti Sharma."

Sharma, who made her T20I debut for India back in 2016, has been one of the top match-winners for the nation in the shortest format of the game. She has made some valuable contributions with the bat and has also troubled the opposition batters with her right-arm off-spin.

Deepti has never captained Team India in T20Is but she gained some leadership experience by playing the skipper's role for Team Velocity in the Women's T20 Challenge 2022. Under her captaincy, the team made it to the finals, where they lost against the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Supernovas.

Deepti Sharma recently played against Alyssa Healy in Women's T20 World Cup 2023

Australia v India - ICC Women's T20 World Cup South Africa 2023 Semi Final (Image: Getty)

Deepti Sharma and Alyssa Healy have played a lot of cricket against each other in the recent past. Healy captained Australia Women in four matches of their five-match T20I series against India Women last year.

Sharma and Healy also crossed paths in the Women's T20 World Cup 2023 semi-final a couple of days ago, where Australia Women beat India Women by five runs.

It will be exciting to see how they perform as the leaders of the UP Warriorz in WPL 2023. UP Warriorz will open their campaign against Gujarat Giants on March 5 at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai.