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'There Is No Ego' - Alyssa Healy On Following Lanning's Legacy & Captaincy Pressure

image-lqpcfl17Alyssa Healy with her team (X.com)

Australia’s veteran cricketer, Alyssa Healy is known for her clear thoughts and ability to tonk bowling line-ups around the world all over the park. Ahead of the start of the series, she shared thoughts on her approach as the new leader in the team. 

Healy has asserted the fact that acting like a dictator doesn’t suit her style of captaincy and is rather focused on encouraging the next generation of players to express themselves and take responsibility. 

"There is no ego in me being captain. It's not a dictatorship. I am not here to tell anybody how to play. It's more about encouraging the next generation of leaders within our group, and we have got some amazing senior players who are captaining domestic teams. We have got the next generation of superstars coming through, closing that gap and ensuring that they can lead themselves and drive the way they want to play the game. I am encouraging everyone to have their voice. That is important to make this team successful for the next 10-15 years," said Healy to JioCinema.

On 9th December 2023, Healy took over from Meg Lanning as the new captain of the Australia’s women’s team. The latter called it quits from international cricket in November. Lanning has been one of the best captains in the history of women’s cricket. To fill her shoes isn’t going to be an easy task and Healy is fully aware of that. 

"It is a huge shoe to fill. We know how successful Meg was as a player and also as a captain of the Australian team. It is not lost on me that there are some really big shoes to fill. From my perspective, it is a nice opportunity to see how I would go and take the team into the next generation and the next version of the legacy that they want to create. It is really exciting to get the role full-time. I have been filling in for the last twelve months," said Healy.

The Women’s Premier League has given the opportunity for players from different nations to share culture and understand each other. The tournament also helped Alyssa Healy to understand the challenges Indian cricketers face while playing for their nation. 

"The WPL opened my eyes to what it's like to be an Indian cricketer. We have traditionally come here and played as an Australian team against India. With the WPL, I've got a new appreciation for the boys and girls who play cricket in India. It does not give us an upper hand as to what conditions to expect, but we just adapt. Getting to know all the girls is something we don't get to do at the international level. But to sit in the same room as someone like Deepti Sharma and see how she goes about things was an eye-opening experience," Healy said.

The first ODI between India and Australia is slated to be played on Thursday at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.