Nooshin al khadeer

Nooshin Al Khadeer picked up 100 ODI wickets, played a World Cup final in 2005, coached India U19s to World Cup title in 2023, coaches Railways – the most successful women’s team in Indian domestic cricket – and is the bowling coach of the Gujarat Giants. She spoke to Abhishek Mukherjee on her latest role in the WPL with Gujarat Giants. For much of the 2000s, Nooshin Al Khadeer formed a famous spin duo with Neetu David. After retirement, she became one of the most celebrated coaches on the Indian circuit. When the Women’s Premier League was announced, it was only a matter of time before she was recruited by one of the five franchises. She eventually joined the Gujarat Giants as their bowling coach. The journey began at the auction, where the five teams all had to begin with a clean slate. How did the Giants go about it, with no template to follow? “All the teams were new in terms of bidding,” she says. “We had our drafts ready for a few key players whom we wanted, keeping in mind that we may miss out on them because there were other teams also going for those players. Ultimately when you sit down, you want your team combination to be right. You want to set your narrative. You want to first set your 15 (squad) and then set-up your XI. “A lot of hard work [is] put into an auction just to get your strategies right in terms of the combination and balance. Unfortunately, in the beginning of the tournament, we had to lose out on Deandra [Dottin] and Beth Mooney. We had to have t...

Haynes captained Australia on 14 occasions when filling in for Meg Lanning, most notably during the 2017-18 Ashes when Lanning was ruled out due to a shoulder injury. The 36-year-old finished having won two ICC Women's World Cup titles for Australia in 2013 and 2022 and another two ICC Women's T20 World Cups in 2018 and 2020. "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 working 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 Haynes.

Vice-captain Shweta Sehrawat emerged the top run-getter with 297, while skipper Verma was third in the list with 172. Khadeer lavished praise on Verma’s leadership and decision-making qualities. “Shafali has a very positive approach and that is what she kept doing, talking to each player on and off the field,” remarked Khadeer, who represented the country in five Tests, 78 ODIs and two T20Is. When asked about the challenges she endured as coach during the journey, she said: “Most of the girls are playing at the international level for the first time. The World Cup is a big stage, so to keep them positive and in a good head space each day was challenging.” In bowling department, leg-spinner Parshavi Chopra (11 wickets), was the second highest wicket-taker after Australia pacer Maggie Clark (12). Chopra got good support from left-arm spinner Mannat Kashyap (9) and off-spinner Archana Devi (8). Khadeer reckoned the maiden World Cup feat will attract more girls to cricket grounds. However, she reminded World Cup-winning team members that this is just a beginning. “It’s a very big achievement. Also Read: It’s going to motivate a lot of young girls to take up the sport. It’s too early to mention [about any player]. The players have good potential. As they all are U-19, their journey has started off. It [promotion to the senior team] depends on how they use the exposure and work on their abilities to match the senior team. They just need to keep working hard and trust the process...

Along with the exemplary cricketer Mithali, the Giants have roped in some of the most prominent names from the world of cricket. While former Australian cricketer Rachael Haynes will be the team’s head coach, the team’s bowling coach is the former Indian spinner, Nooshin Al Khadeer, with all-rounder Tushar Arothe as their batting coach and Gavan Twining will be the team’s fielding coach. Former captain of the Indian national team and mentor for Gujarat Giants, Mithali Raj opened up on the appointments. “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. “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. ‘Looking forward to working with Gujarat Gian...