Gujarat Giants (GG) head coach Michael Klinger has stated that the decision to release England opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge was driven by a desire for tactical flexibility in the upcoming auction, alongside considerations regarding her international availability during the 2027 Women’s Premier League (WPL). GG opted to release four players – Danni, India fast bowler Titas Sadhu, uncapped batter Aayushi Soni, and wicketkeeper-batter Shivani Singh, while keeping the majority of their core intact. “Firstly, we decided not to release too many players. We feel like we really got a strong squad internally already. But some really tough decisions – Danni is a world-class player.
Unfortunately, she didn’t get a lot of game time last year.
Gujarat Giants (GG) head coach Michael Klinger has stated that the decision to release England opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge was driven by a desire for tactical flexibility in the upcoming auction, alongside considerations regarding her international availability during WPL 2027.
GG will head into the player auction on October 28 in Kochi with a purse of Rs 1.25 crore. So that’s certainly going to be a goal of ours initially. The last two years we’ve made playoffs and unfortunately lost in the eliminator.
“We just felt that giving us another option as an overseas player in the auction and seeing what’s out there and what other skill sets are out there, that’s something that we can do in about a month. “But Danni’s also got some English series on during the WPL, and I suppose for her, her preference was to be playing cricket as well rather than potentially being part of our squad and maybe being on the bench. “I know she’s coming back now. So looking forward to see how she goes over the next few weeks as well. But we know she’s a good bowler, but it also gives another option,” he explained. Having suffered Eliminator heartbreak in the last two WPL editions, Klinger has set his sights firmly on securing the top spot in the league standings to secure a direct route to the final. “I mean, everyone starts fresh, don’t they, at the start of next year? But we’re certainly confident we’ve got the team and the ability to be playing in the championship game. “So one way of making sure we make finals is to finish on top. But it’s going to be the goal of every other team in the competition as well. I feel we’ve got the playing list ready. “It’s all about players coming into the tournament in some really good form, and hopefully, domestically in domestic competitions, our local players can do that. Our overseas players will all be playing in the WBBL, sort of leading into that as well. So it’ll be really good for them to have some high-quality cricket coming into the WBBL,” he concluded.
So, that’s the way we decided to go,” Klinger said to Star Sports on the retention deadline show on Monday.
