Anjum Chopra backs Neetu David as UP Warriorz chief scout

It's nice that Neetu David gets to work with a franchise like UP Warriorz, says Anjum Chopra

New Delhi, Aug 26

Neetu was recently unveiled as chief scout of UPW in the WPL, and this marks her first franchise T20 cricket role since stepping down as chair of the women's selection committee - a panel that, during her tenure starting from 2020 picked the Harmanpreet Kaur-led India squad that won the 2025 Women's ODI World Cup on home soil.

"It's good. I mean, look, Neetu David is a quality cricketer. Take nothing away from her. She's a hall of famer and was a quality cricketer who won matches for India. The entire duration she played for India, she was a match winner. So, she knows a lot about Indian cricket.

"A lot about the players coming through the line and because she's been a selector, she would obviously know the current bunch of players who are there, and coming through the ranks, and probably as a selector, she was keeping their eyes on them. It's nice that she's got an opportunity to work with one of the franchise teams and she'll be a part of that setup when you're a part of a franchise team where the discussions are very different, the preparation is very different, the thinking is very different.

"So, she, as an individual, will also be exposed to so many different things, and discussions which will help Neetu, and UP Warriorz. I hope it will also help a lot of cricketers who are around Neetu David because she can obviously impart that kind of skill to these players," Anjum told IANS in an exclusive conversation on Wednesday.

UPW's scouting processes were being locally taken care of by the coaches and former CoE bowling coach Rajib Dutta was also briefly engaged with them during this year's women's Bengal T20 league. Neetu's playing career remains among the most decorated in Indian women's cricket.

An accomplished left-arm spinner, she played ten Tests and 97 ODIs for India between 1995 and 2008, finishing with 182 wickets across formats, and still holds the record for the best bowling figures in a women's Test innings - 8-53 against the West Indies in Jamshedpur in 1995.

In 2024, she became only the second Indian woman inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame and recently served as a special selector in the Bihar set-up. UPW made the playoffs in the inaugural WPL season in 2023, but finished bottom of the table in both 2025 and 2026.

The team recently held a short off-season camp in Bengaluru, with Neetu being present with the team set-up comprising head coach Abhishek Nayar and mentor Lisa Sthalekar, as they look to put their best foot forward for WPL 2027.

"UP Warriors had an excellent team. If we go back to the auction where they picked this squad, on paper they were a champion side, but how they put their performance up on the park and do it consistently is the question. When they had the auction in November 2025, everyone looked at that team led by Meg Lanning and thought, 'What a squad.' So, I don't know where it went haywire for them this time," added Anjum.

— IANS