Last Updated:
In 18 WPL matches played so far for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, New Zealand’s T20I captain Sophie Devine has scored 402 runs and picked up nine wickets.
Sophie Devine to miss WPL 2025. (Picture Credit: PTI)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru star Sophie Devine will miss the upcoming 2025 edition of the Women’s Premier League. The 35-year-old cricketer, who led New Zealand to its first-ever T20 World Cup title win last year in the United Arab Emirates, was part of the RCB setup in WPL 2024 and played a big role in the Smriti Mandhana-led side’s title win.
Devine has taken a break from domestic cricket to prioritise her well-being.
According to an official release by White Ferns on Saturday (January 25), “Sophie Devine will take a break from domestic cricket and return home immediately to prioritise her well-being. The decision, made by Devine this week after receiving professional advice, will mean she misses both the remainder of her Dream11 Super Smash season with Wellington and her 2025 Women’s Premier League commitments with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).”
NZC’s Head of Women’s High-Performance Development, Liz Green, said Devine was departing for home with her full backing.
“Player well-being is paramount to us—it takes precedence over everything else,” said Green. “Sophie’s had excellent support from the New Zealand Cricket Players Association and from our own high-performance unit staff, and everyone agrees this is the best option available. The most important thing for NZC is that Sophie has a decent break, receives good support and care, and is fit and well before returning to professional cricket.”
Devine’s WPL record
Devine, who has played 143 T20Is for New Zealand so far and has 3391 runs and 117 wickets to her name, was signed for Rs 50 lakh by the Bengaluru-based franchise in the WPL 2023 auction. In her first season for RCB, the legendary cricketer played eight matches, and with the help of two half-centuries, scored 266 runs. In addition to that, she also accounted for the dismissal of three batters.
In the 2024 season, Devine scored 136 runs in 10 matches and picked up six wickets.
She hammered 99 runs from 36 balls for RCB against Gujarat Giants in the WPL 2023 match played at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on March 18, 2023, to register the highest individual score in the tournament’s history.
