New Delhi, Dec 25 (NationPress) As we gear up for the 2026 season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), former Indian cricketer Anagha Deshpande has officially joined the Delhi Capitals (DC) as an assistant coach, after the team finished as runners-up three times.

It has been reported that Anagha will focus on fielding and batting skills within the DC framework. "I am excited to be part of the Delhi Capitals. This was finalized recently, and it’s definitely a fantastic opportunity for me," Anagha stated.

“I am eager to learn and develop my coaching abilities. Having seen the team strive for a championship for the past three years, I hope to contribute to their success this time around,” she added in her statement to IANS.

Anagha will work alongside head coach Jonathan Batty. Her appointment follows the departure of Lisa Keightley, who is now with the Mumbai Indians, and Milap Mewada, who is coaching Goa’s men's team.

With a career spanning from 2008 to 2014, Anagha played 23 ODIs and 8 T20Is for India, accumulating 483 runs. As a wicketkeeper, she was responsible for 16 catches and 21 stumpings in white-ball formats. Her domestic cricket experience includes representing Maharashtra, Railways, Gujarat, and Puducherry.

Since retiring, she has found success as a coach in Uttarakhand, leading the U19 women's team to one-day trophies in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons. Additionally, she guided the U23 team to the knockout stages in the T20 and one-day championships for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons.

Under her coaching, Uttarakhand reached their first senior women's finals in both T20 and one-day formats in the 2023/24 season. Players like Nandini Kashyap, Raghvi Bist, and Prema Rawat, who participated in this year's WPL and India A teams, credit their development to Anagha’s guidance.

She has been involved with several teams in the senior and U19 women’s challenger trophies and has held various roles in camps organized by the BCCI Centre of Excellence.

The Delhi Capitals will kick off their 2026 WPL journey on January 10 against the reigning champions, the Mumbai Indians, at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Recently, Jemimah Rodrigues was appointed as DC’s new captain, a decision Anagha fully supports.

“I have witnessed her leadership skills firsthand. She is truly deserving of the captaincy. Her leadership style shines through, and I believe she is completely qualified for this role,” Anagha remarked.

In related news, it has been reported that former Indian captain Anju Jain is expected to join DC as the batting coach. Anju has a distinguished career with 8 Tests and 65 ODIs for India from 1993 to 2005, scoring a total of 2170 runs.

In her Test career, she hit one century and three fifties while also contributing significantly in the field with 15 catches and 8 stumpings. In ODIs, she made 30 catches and 51 stumpings.

Anju previously held the position of assistant coach for UP Warriorz during the initial two seasons of the WPL and was the head coach for Tornadoes at the FairBreak Global Invitational tournament. She has also coached the Indian women's team and has been the chairperson of the women’s selection committee.

Her coaching experience extends to the Bangladesh women’s team and various state teams in the domestic circuit, including Odisha, Vidarbha, Assam, Tripura, and Baroda.