Deandra Dottin has seen seismic changes in her life in the last year or so. She came out of retirement after two years to rejoin the West Indies team where she was a vital cog in a spirited World Cup campaign.
She was picked in the auction of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) by the very franchise she had a controversial exit from in the inaugural season even before the tournament began.
𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙮𝙡𝙚 🤌🧡
Welcome back, Deandra Dottin 🤩#GujaratGiants#BringItOn#Adani#WPL2025#TATAWPLAuction #TATAWPLpic.twitter.com/HhjV18xxqi
— Gujarat Giants (@Giant_Cricket) December 15, 2024
From bilaterals in India and at home to a successful Women’s Big Bash League campaign with the Melbourne Renegades, there’s been little to no breathing space for the veteran who recently rediscovered her joy in the game.
“The last couple of months have been a fast-processing kind of cricket thing. I’ve been in good form but just not executing at the level I want to be at,” she tells Sportstar on the eve of the big knockout clash between Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League.
The ‘World Boss’, as her name goes in the women’s game, has lit up the WPL but not in her usual style.
Known for her sheer power and penchant for the maximums, Dottin has been more clinical with the ball, coming in for Gujarat as a strike bowler in the PowerPlay and in the death.
Gujarat Giants’ Deandra Dottin celebrates the wicket of Danni Wyatt-Hodge of Royal Challengers Bengaluru during a Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu/K. Bhagya Prakash
Gujarat Giants’ Deandra Dottin celebrates the wicket of Danni Wyatt-Hodge of Royal Challengers Bengaluru during a Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu/K. Bhagya Prakash
She played a similar role for West Indies in the T20 World Cup last year. Her four-fer against New Zealand – her fourth four-wicket haul in T20 WCs – most by anyone in the tournament’s history – underlined her mastery despite operating in the largely spin-friendly conditions in the UAE.
Working on the swing
In the WPL this season, Dottin has bowled almost 30 overs in eight games, with nine wickets to her name while 77 of the 178 balls have been dots. Her slower ball and ability to fox batters in the air have been crucial but what she’s been working on is maximising on swing.
“Something I’ve been working on is swinging the ball both ways. I already have my variations in terms of the slow balls. But the outswinger is an element I am working on. I am still figuring out how to get the lengths right and be consistent.
“But it’s good to be a bowler whom batters can’t read, especially those batters who you want bad,” she explains.
RELATED: How has Gujarat Giants fared in Women’s Premier League knockouts? Road to Eliminator
That said, what she really hopes to do is put on a show with the bat, and the Eliminator against Mumbai Indians might be just the occasion to bring out a vintage Dottin special.
Good shot b̷h̷a̷i̷y̷a̷a̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷i̷ 𝗗𝗗 😂🧡#TATAWPL2025#GujaratGiants#BringItOn#Adanipic.twitter.com/IlULffU6xn
— Gujarat Giants (@Giant_Cricket) March 12, 2025
The 33-year-old has been slotted lower down the order to give GG a technically sound power hitter in the later stages.
“I’ve not asked to ever come up the order because a player of my calibre should go in with two overs and still come back with plenty, with the form I’m in. It has helped me to be clear about my role in the team and not get caught up with higher scores.
“I have been working hard in the nets to ensure I can make the most of the few balls I get.”
Dottin in action for Gujarat Giants during a Women’s Premier League 2025 match against Delhi Capitals in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu/K. Bhagya Prakash
Dottin in action for Gujarat Giants during a Women’s Premier League 2025 match against Delhi Capitals in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu/K. Bhagya Prakash
She has the likes of Simran Shaikh, Bharti Fulmali and Shabnam Shakil trying to learn and perfect the art of power hitting from her. Dottin believes that the pursuit of explosive batting should begin with developing strength.
“I think that boils down to the player itself. A lot of them ask me how I got so strong and all I tell them is to do a lot of push-ups and pull-ups.
“If you can master doing bodyweight stuff – I think I’ve spoken to Shabnam about it because she saw me doing pull-ups – it will hold you in good stead. You need to be able to carry your own weight. If you can’t, then you have problems.
“I tell the girls to start with one pull-up a day. When you’ve mastered that, do two the next day. Use a band to help you till you can handle your weight on your own. Pull-ups, shoulder push-ups, these are good ways to develop strength in the areas you need to use to hit the ball long.”
Never say never
Cricket is Dottin’s meditative space. But it wasn’t so when she decided to suddenly call time on her international career in August 2022 citing a negative environment within the Windies setup.
She moved to Canada but never abandoned cricket. Eventually, the hunger for the big stage caught up with her and she announced her intention to return, ahead of the T20 World Cup in Dubai and Sharjah last year.
“I found peace even before I came back (from retirement). That’s the only reason why I even decided to return. The break was good. It did a lot for me mentally. I learned to focus on things I can actually control and leave the rest that I cannot.
“I never stopped training. I was always in the gym and doing my physical stuff. So, it wasn’t too much of an adjustment. More of a mental reset,” she explains.
The World Cup and an inspired run for the West Indies, to the semifinal, only reinforced her faith in these life lessons.
Dottin announced her international retirement in 2022 but decided to return before the T20 World Cup in Dubai and Sharjah last year.
| Photo Credit:
ICC via Getty Images
Dottin announced her international retirement in 2022 but decided to return before the T20 World Cup in Dubai and Sharjah last year.
| Photo Credit:
ICC via Getty Images
“That campaign showed me that no matter what life throws at you, you use it to make something out of it.”
Being in India on and off since the turn of the year (first the bilateral white ball series and then the WPL) has been fun for Dottin.
RELATED: Deandra Dottin after Gujarat Giants WPL comeback – ‘Life has come full circle’
Within the Gujarat setup, it’s also another opportunity for her to soak up the best parts of how those around her approach cricket.
“You’re never too old to learn. I’m actually still in a learning process at my age and still willing to give the knowledge that I have as well.”
“I ask a lot of questions. But one of the best ways for me to learn is to watch others. Sometimes, they will play a shot and might be offered a correction and I’ll watch them do it.
“Watching sometimes teaches you more than actually executing the shot yourself because you can’t see what you’re getting wrong and how the fix is helping. All that remains is to then mimic the correction,” she adds.
The Windies all-rounder also hopes to do is put on a show with the bat, and the Eliminator against Mumbai Indians might be just the occasion to bring out a vintage Dottin special.
| Photo Credit:
Emmanual Yogini/The Hindu
The Windies all-rounder also hopes to do is put on a show with the bat, and the Eliminator against Mumbai Indians might be just the occasion to bring out a vintage Dottin special.
| Photo Credit:
Emmanual Yogini/The Hindu
Dottin is one of three cricketers from the Caribbean in the WPL (alongside Hayley Matthews and Chinelle Henry). She hopes the numbers grow.
“The WPL is definitely an aspirational thing for the girls back home, but the thing is, you have to put in the work in order to reach this far. I always say that if you’re comfortable, you’re not doing enough.”
