Watch: Delhi Capitals Women introduce Japanese net bowler Ahilya Chandel

The WPL 2025 is just three days away and the five teams are preparing to perform well. This will be the third edition of the franchise league which will feature some of the best players in women's cricket.

One of the teams to watch out for is the Delhi Capitals Women (DC-W) who have made it to the finals twice but have failed to get their hands on the trophy, losing the inaugural final to Mumbai Indians Women (MI-W) and the second time to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women (RCB-W). The side is known to promote emerging talent and recently the franchise welcomed 22-year-old Japan Women's cricketer Ahilya Chandel as a net bowler. Ahilya was seen practicing with the team and, in a chat, she opened up on her cricketing journey. 

“In my cricketing journey so far, I’ve played for Japan, and I also play my cricket way back in Sydney, Australia. I’ve been playing since I was eight years old. I got into cricket because of my dad. My dad’s an Indian, and so he passed that on to me. When he found that Japan had a cricket team, he said why not give it a go? And yeah, since 2022, I’ve made my debut, represented Japan, and now I’m here,” Chandel said in an interview with the Delhi Capitals. 

Watch the video below -

Also Read: 'Two good seasons but unfortunately we didn't win' - DC skipper Meg Lanning lays out plans for WPL 2025

Chandel also talked about the interactions she has had with the DC-W players, especially with Indian batting star Jemimah Rodrigues who, Chandel said, gave her words of encouragement during the practice sessions plus mentioning that it is a big opportunity for her to bowl to the world-class cricketers. 

“I actually had a conversation with Jemi. I spoke to her about my bowling since I’m here as a net bowler, and she gave me a lot of encouragement, reassuring me about my skills, which was really nice, it’s a big opportunity to be playing alongside world-class cricketers. It’s also a good experience to develop my own skills and see how far I am or what the gap is between my level and theirs. When I’m bowling to top-class cricketers, I try to think about how they are thinking and staying a step ahead of them,” Chandel added. 

Speaking of Chandel’s previous performances, she has played 32 matches for the Japan Women and has taken 30 wickets at an average of 17.06 and has an economy of 4.58 with best figures of 4/8 against China Women which she achieved last season.