Chamari Athapaththu to be Absent in WPL 2025's Final Stages for UP Warriorz
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Synopsis
Chamari Athapaththu will not compete in the remaining stages of WPL 2025 for UP Warriorz as she joins the Sri Lankan team for an upcoming tour of New Zealand beginning March 4.
Key Takeaways
- Chamari Athapaththu is leaving for a white-ball tour of New Zealand.
- Her absence is a setback for UP Warriorz, already missing Alyssa Healy.
- Athapaththu will play until February 26 before departing.
- The WPL is shifting its schedule to avoid future conflicts with international fixtures.
- Amelia Kerr will also miss T20I series to remain with WPL.
New Delhi, Feb 18 (NationPress) Chamari Athapaththu will not participate in the concluding stages of the current Women's Premier League (WPL) 2025 for UP Warriorz (UPW) as she prepares to join the Sri Lankan team for a white-ball tour of New Zealand commencing on March 4 in Napier.
This will mark the second significant blow for UPW, who are already missing their regular captain, Alyssa Healy, due to injury.
According to an ESPNcricinfo report, Athapaththu will be with UPW until February 26, participating in four additional matches before leaving for her national responsibilities. Following their match against Mumbai Indians in Bengaluru on February 26, UPW will head to Lucknow for the final league phase, where they will host three home games. So far, the team has only played one match, in which Athapaththu was excluded from the lineup, leading to a defeat against Gujarat Giants.
Athapaththu has been appointed captain of the Sri Lanka 16-member squad, which was officially announced by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Monday. The team is scheduled to depart for New Zealand on February 22 for three ODIs and three T20Is.
Amelia Kerr, the sole New Zealand player in the WPL this season, will miss the upcoming bilateral series to participate fully in the WPL, including the knockout rounds if Mumbai Indians qualify. If MI reaches the final set for March 15, Kerr will also miss the first two T20Is against New Zealand, scheduled for March 14 and 16 in Christchurch. Last year, Kerr also opted out of the T20I series against England to ensure her availability for the entire duration of the WPL.
In 2024, the overlap between the final stages of the WPL and the T20I series in New Zealand created significant issues, as England’s Heather Knight (RCB) and Lauren Bell (UPW) chose to forgo the WPL entirely to represent their national teams. Athapaththu had stepped in for Bell in the UPW lineup during that timeframe.
In light of such scheduling conflicts, boards like the ECB have promised players that international fixtures will not clash with the WPL in the future. The WPL is anticipated to shift from its current February-March period to January-February starting in 2026, as per the new women’s Future Tours Programme (FTP). To avoid similar conflicts between international series and T20 leagues, the FTP has established separate windows for the Hundred (August) and WBBL (November) through 2029.
