Six-time world champ Rachael Haynes is the first Australian luminary to be snapped up as part of India's potentially game-changing Women's Premier League as she's been handed the job as head coach job of the Gujarat Giants.
The former national team vice-captain, who retired as a player last year after a distinguished career, has been charged with overseeing a successful start for the Ahmedabad-based franchise in the new league which is set to kick off in March amid huge anticipation.
It's a big step up for the 36-year-old who explained after retiring that she still hoped to remain involved in the sport which she graced so impressively at international level. Haynes has been doing TV commentary work
Haynes scored 383 runs in Tests, 2585 in ODIs and 850 in T20Is for a total of 3818 runs for her country.
Backing her in her new job will be a strong group of assistants including Gavan Twining, the New South Wales Breakers coach who Haynes has previously already worked alongside.
Bowling coach Nooshin Al Khadeer is fresh from guiding India to the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa while Tushar Arothe, a former Indian national women's team coach, will look after Gujarat's batters.
Mithali Raj, already on board as the team's mentor and advisor, said: "The likes of Rachael Haynes, Nooshin Al Khadeer, Tushar Arothe, and Gavan Twining will certainly take the performance of the team notches up.
"Not only have they carved a niche for themselves in their roles, but their stories of resilience will also be an inspiration for the team."
The WPL is set to begin on March 4, running for three weeks between the end of the Women's T20 World Cup and the start of the men's IPL competition.
The hype surrounding the inaugural WPL will be notched up later this month when the player auction will take place with each franchise having a purse of approximately $A2.11 million.
Players from the all-conquering Australian team will doubtless be in the highest demand for the 22-match tournament, with each side able to buy seven from overseas.
