"We have a new friend from Japan"- Delhi Capitals sign Japanese player as net bowler ahead of WPL 2025

Delhi Capitals have roped in Japanese cricketer Ahilya Chandel as one of their net bowlers for the upcoming WPL 2025 season. DC made the announcement via a social media post, where the franchise described Ahilya as their "new friend" from Japan.

The WPL's third edition will begin on February 14 in Baroda. Ahead of the opening leg, all five teams have reached Baroda to gear up for the new season.

To ensure that their batters get the best preparation and bowlers are not too tired, franchises often sign net bowlers to help with training. Delhi Capitals have signed Japanese player Ahilya Chandel as one of their net bowlers for WPL 2025. She is just 22 years old, but she has the experience of playing 32 T20I matches.

Japan is one of the upcoming nations in the cricket world. Talking about Ahilya's career, she is a left-arm medium pace-bowling all-rounder. Notably, she has scored 279 runs and scalped 30 wickets in her T20I career thus far.

"Dad's Indian, so he passed that on to me"- Ahilya Chandel shares her cricketing journey with Delhi Capitals

The DC social media team posted a video of Ahilya Chandel narrating her story. She has an Indian father, who guided her to become a cricketer for Japan.

"Hi, I'm Ahilya from Japan cricket, currently here with Delhi Capitals. I'm a left-arm pacer. I've played for Japan and also I play my cricket way back in Sydney, Australia. I've been playing since I was eight years old," Ahilya said.

"Getting into cricket wise was (because of) dad. Dad's Indian, so he passed that on to me. When he found that Japan had a cricket team, he said, 'Why not give it a go?'" she added.

The WPL exposure will help Ahilya become a better player. It will be interesting to see if Ahilya becomes the first Japanese player to play in WPL in the future.