Gujarat Giants' Harleen Deol ruled out of WPL 2024 due to knee injury - Reports 

Gujarat Giants' (GG) Harleen Deol has been reportedly ruled out of the remainder of the 2024 Women's Premier League (WPL) season due to a knee injury, according to a report by Cricbuzz. GG have roped in Vidarbha batter Bharti Fulmali as a replacement player, their third for the season after they brought in Sayali Sathgare and Lea Tahuhu for Kashvee Gautam and Lauren Cheatle, respectively.

Deol, who was fielding with heavy strapping to her left knee during the league-stage clash against the UP Warriorz, aggravated the injury and had to limp off the field. Having scored 18 runs off 24 deliveries in the first innings, she did not return to the field as the Giants lost the game by six wickets.

The full extent of her injury is yet to be determined, but it is deemed severe enough to rule her out of the second half of the tournament. She had scored 48 runs in three matches in WPL 2024.

Harleen Deol was the franchise's second-leading scorer in the inaugural edition, scoring 202 runs in eight matches at a strike rate of 125.46.

Sneh Rana in line to return for Gujarat Giants after brief absence

Gujarat Giants were also without the services of Sneh Rana for the last set of matches. The all-rounder, who led the franchise in the inaugural edition following Beth Mooney's injury, was unavailable due to an undisclosed illness.

She is all set to make her return to the playing XI for GG's upcoming encounter against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Saturday, March 9.

GG still need a massive turnaround to qualify for the playoffs as they failed to register a single win during the Bengaluru leg of the competition. The franchise finally ended their winless streak with a 19-run win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday, March 6.

Beth Mooney led from the front with an unbeaten 85, while Laura Wolvaardt also chipped in with a half-century that led to a mammoth 140-run opening stand.

"There were a few eyebrows raised when we chose to bat. But Mike and I had a chat and wanted to get ahead of the game. Laura batted the house down. She was amazing tonight, took a lot of pressure off me. She's a beautiful batter when she gets going," Mooney said during the post-match presentation.

Will the Gujarat Giants be able to qualify for the WPL 2024 playoffs? Let us know what you think.