Gujarat Giants have appointed Ashleigh Gardner as their new captain ahead of the upcoming Women's Premier League (WPL) 2025 season. She took over the leadership from fellow Australian stalwart Beth Mooney who will focus solely on her batting. After finishing fifth and last in the two editions of the WPL, the Giants owned by Adani Sportsline, will be hoping that Gardner can lead the team to their maiden WPL crown. In their inaugural fixture of the new season, the Giants will face defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on February 14. Ashleigh Gardner to lead Gujarat Giants' new era Ash Gardner has played 95 T20I fixtures for Australia, having scored more than 1400 runs, and contributing 78 wickets as well. She helped the Aussies win the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medal, whilst also being adjudged as the Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup last year. "It is an absolute honour for me to be named the captain of Gujarat Giants. I have loved being a part of this team and I am excited to lead this fantastic group in the upcoming season," Gardner said in a release. Ashleigh Gardner's past performances for GG Gardner has played 16 matches for the Giants, scoring 324 runs and she has bagged 17 wickets. The all-rounder will hope to continue her form ahead of the third edition of WPL. She stated, "We have a great mix of young and experienced players and plenty of Indian talent in our squad. I am looking forward to working with the team and making our fans proud." Gujarat Giants' WPL 2025 squad: Laura Wolvaardt, Phoebe Litchfield, Bharti Fulmali, Dayalan Hemalatha, Simran Shaikh, Ash Gardner (c), Dani Gibson, Deandra Dottin, Harleen Deol, Sayali Satghare, Beth Mooney, Kashvee Gautam, Mannat Kashyap, Meghna Singh, Prakashika Naik, Priya Mishra, Shabnam, Tanuja Kanwer.Original Article