Lizelle Lee of Delhi Capitals plays a shot during the WPL match against UP Warriors at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday, January 20, 2026.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
In an era when high fitness standards have increasingly become non-negotiable for cricketers at the elite level, Lizelle Lee may appear anachronistic. Back in 2022, the South African wicketkeeper-batter announced an abrupt retirement from international cricket at the age of 30 over her failure to meet Cricket South Africa’s fitness requirements.
But as she contested back then, it wasn’t an impediment to the benchmark that she set with her prolific run-scoring. Nearly four years later, Lee is continuing to show in franchise T20 leagues around the world that she remains one of the most destructive batters going around.
Having excelled in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) in particular, Lee, who has become an Australian resident, is now showing her wares in front of Indian crowds at the Women’s Premier League as well.
If Lee’s impact in the WPL has been felt only in the tournament’s fourth season, it is because she went curiously unsold in the auction ahead of the 2025 season. But last November, Delhi Capitals snapped the bespectacled 33-year-old at her base price of ₹30 lakh.
Lee has hit her stride alongside the equally dynamic Shafali Verma at the top of the order. In five matches, Lee has amassed 213 runs at an average of 42.6 and a strike rate of 154.34.
She has contributed handsomely to DC’s two wins, and even when the side lost to Gujarat Giants by four runs while chasing 210, Lee came to the fore with a 54-ball 86.
On Tuesday, Mumbai Indians bore the brunt of Lee’s power. Later, MI’s Australian coach Lisa Keightley was all praise for the opener.
“I don’t know Lizelle very well, but of course she would have loved to play earlier in the WPL. She hits different areas than most batters that I’ve had the experience to watch,” Keightley said.
Published – January 21, 2026 05:38 pm IST