Ritika supyal

Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium: The player draft for the 2025 Women’s Uttarakhand Premier League was conducted on Saturday morning in Dehradun, assembling competitive squads for the four participating teams - Haridwar Storm, Mussoorie Thunders, Pithoragarh Hurricanes and Tehri Queens.

Each franchise completed its roster by securing talent across five player categories: Icon Player, Category A, Category B, Category C and Uncapped Players. With the draft now concluded, teams will kickstart their preparation to take part in the Women’s UPL, which will commence on September 23.

The day started with Tehri Queens getting the first pick after a pick order was conducted on Friday evening to determine the order of the player draft. Neelam Bhardwaj, who became the youngest women’s player to score a List A double century in 2024, was picked by Tehri Queens. Mussoorie Thunders were the second team to pick their Icon Player and went with wicketkeeper-batter Kanchan Parihar, who hails from Haldwani. Haridwar Storm’s pick of fellow wicketkeeper-batter Sweta Verma as their Icon Player meant that Pithoragarh Hurricanes were automatically allotted Mansi Joshi as their marquee player.