WPL 2024: Gujarat Giants’ fast bowler Lauren Cheatle ruled out after neck skin cancer removal

Australia fast bowler Lauren Cheatle has been ruled out of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 due to a skin cancer procedure that she underwent on Wednesday, February 2.

The 25-year-old had skin cancer removed from her neck. Back in 2021, the speedster had to undergo a similar operation on her leg.

Cheatle was set to play for the Gujarat Giants after being picked up in the auction for INR 30 lakhs.

"Cheatle is aiming to return to training with NSW following the players' scheduled off-season break," Cricket New South Wales wrote in a statement.

Apart from Cheatle, the Giants also bought Phoebe Litchfield, Meghana Singh, Trisha Poojitha, Kashvee Gautam, Priya Mishra, Kathryn Bryce, Mannat Kashyap, Veda Krishnamurthy and Tarannum Pathan at the auction.

Last season, the Giants finished at the bottom of the table after losing 6 out of their 8 matches in the tournament.

The upcoming WPL is set to get underway on Friday, January 23 with the opening match to be played between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Capitals (DC) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

The Giants will play their first game against Harmanpreet Kaur’s MI on Sunday, February 25 in Bengaluru.

Lauren Cheatle to miss rest of domestic season

Apart from the WPL, Cheatle will also miss the remainder of the ongoing Women’s National Cricket League. In 5 matches, the left-armer picked up 11 wickets at an economy rate of 4.11.

She got her best figures of 9.1-3-18-3 against Australian Capital Territory Women on Tuesday, January 30 at the Phillip Oval in Canberra. She got the wickets of Paris Bowdler, Grace Lyons and Alisha Bates, but NSW lost the match by 4 wickets.

In 1 Test, 4 ODIs and 7 T20Is, Cheatle has picked up 0, 2 and 5 wickets respectively, after making her debut back in January 2016 against India Women at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.