WPL 2025: RCB Signs Charlie Dean as Replacement for Injured Sophie Molineux

Mumbai: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) announced on Thursday the signing of England off-spinner Charlie Dean as a replacement for injured Sophie Molineux for the upcoming Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025.

Injury Sidelines Sophie Molineux

Sophie Molineux will miss the third edition of the WPL due to a knee injury sustained after India’s tour of Australia in December 2024. She will not recover in time for the season.

Molineux was a vital part of RCB-W’s 2024 campaign, contributing significantly with 12 wickets in 10 games at an impressive economy rate of 7.31. Her remarkable three-wicket over in the final against the Delhi Capitals played a pivotal role in securing RCB’s championship win.

Also Read: Tanishk Bagchi Takes Flight with His First Solo Album in Akshay Kumar’s Sky Force

Charlie Dean Joins RCB

Charlie Dean, a 24-year-old bowling all-rounder, joins RCB for Rs 30 Lakh. Dean has an impressive international record, having played:

• 36 T20Is
• 3 Tests
• 39 ODIs
  She has claimed 122 wickets across formats in her international career.

Strengthening RCB’s Title Defense

In addition to signing Dean, RCB bolstered their squad in the mini-auction last year with players like:

• Prema Rawat (Uttarakhand leg-spinner) for Rs 1.2 crore
• Joshitha VJ, Raghvi Bist, and Jagravi Pawar for Rs 10 lakh each

RCB Squad for WPL 2025

The complete squad includes:

• Smriti Mandhana (c)
• Sabbineni Meghana
• Richa Ghosh (wk)
• Ellyse Perry
• Georgia Wareham
• Shreyanka Patil
• Asha Sobhana
• Sophie Devine
• Renuka Singh
• Sophie Molineux
• Ekta Bisht
• Kate Cross
• Kanika Ahuja
• Danni Wyatt-Hodge
• Prema Rawat
• Joshitha VJ
• Raghvi Bist
• Jagravi Pawar

New Venues for WPL 2025

The BCCI has introduced two new venues for the 2025 WPL season: Baroda and Lucknow, alongside the existing venues in Mumbai and Bengaluru. The exact number of matches at each venue will be confirmed once the schedule is announced.