Deandra Dottin slams Gujarat Giants in latest explosive clarification on her controversial exclusion from WPL

Gujarat Giants had stated that Deandra Dottin was released because she was yet to recover from a medical situation, a claim which was quashed by the cricketer.

Gujarat Giants are currently languishing at the bottom of the five-team table in the Women's Premier League, having won just two matches from the seven encounters they've played. The team kicked-off the campaign with a humiliating 143-run loss against Harmanpreet Kaur's Mumbai Indians, however, much before that the team was already embroiled in a controversy.

Former West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin

Gujarat Giants made a last minute change in their squad as the franchise released former West Indies star Deandra Dottin and added Kim Garth. The franchise then stated that Dottin was released because she was yet to recover from a medical situation, a claim which was quashed by the cricketer.

The franchise then released a clarification on the same, stating they “were unable to obtain a medical clearance before the defined deadline.”

Weeks after the development, the cricketer once again took to social media and released a lengthy statement regarding the situation.

Her statement read: “I wish to issue a brief statement in light of ongoing speculation surrounding my recent exclusion from the inaugural Women’s Premier League that is currently taking place in India.

“I remain deeply disappointed by what can only, plausibly, be described as bewildering reasoning for my omission from the tournament.

“I was bought at the WPL auction by the Gujarat Giants, a franchise owned and operated by the Adani Group. At the commencement of the tournament, the franchise claimed that I was excluded from the team because I was apparently “recovering from a medical situation".

“This was followed by a subsequent, clarifying statement that contended that I was, in fact “unable to obtain medical clearance” despite being granted as recently as February 20th.

“I would like to make it clear that I had experienced minor abdominal pain and swelling for which I had sought treatment in December 2022. This was followed by two further referrals to specialists for second opinions in December and January 2023, respectively.

“Following testing and investigations by the specialists, I was asked to rest until February 13th and was cleared to resume fitness and playing activity from February 14th.

“Consequently, I recommenced my personal training and fitness regime according to the guided timelines and experienced some soreness on the first day of resumed training which was anticipated and reasonable, given that I had been asked to rest in the weeks preceding training.”

Dottin said her words were misinterpreted by the Giants. “I was transparent about this in correspondence with the Gujarat Giants physiotherapist, however, this was misconstrued and later conveyed to members of the franchise’s management team as me “experiencing abdominal pain post-session” which was not what I had indicated.

“The franchise, subsequently, insisted that I get myself assessed locally in Canada, where I am currently based, despite medical clearance being granted as recently as February 20th by my treating surgeon, Dr Ian Lewis, a copy of which had been presented to Giants.”

While Dottin's loss has proved to be costly, the team endured another setback in the form of their skipper Beth Mooney. The Aussie sustained an injury in the tournament opener, which also ruled out of the entire season. Giants replaced Mooney with Laura Wolvaardt.