Sri Lankan batter Chamari Athapaththu is set to miss the final phase of the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL) after she was named captain of the national team for the white-ball series against New Zealand beginning on March 4.
On Monday, Athapaththu was named the captain of Sri Lanka’s 16-member squad, which will depart for New Zealand on February 22. Sri Lanka is scheduled to play three ODIs and three T20Is during the tour.
According to reports, the UP Warriorz player will be available for the side till February 26. Athapaththu was not included in the starting line-up for the team’s season opener against Gujarat Giants, which it lost.
UPW will play four more matches before February 26, ahead of the final phase of the tournament, which will feature three home games in Lucknow.
Amelia Kerr, the only New Zealand player in the WPL this season, will, however, play the entire tournament. The Kiwi all-rounder also participated in the previous edition of the WPL, skipping her national team’s bilateral T20Is against England.
In the previous season, England’s captain Heather Knight (RCB) and Lauren Bell (UPW) had missed the WPL due to national duty, as the series clashed with a T20 series in New Zealand.
--Agencies
