Dani Gibson Named Sunrisers Leeds Captain 2026

Dani Gibson has been named captain of Sunrisers Leeds for the 2026 Girls’s Hundred. The England allrounder takes the position after changing into the highest-paid English participant within the girls’s competitors, signing a £190,000 contract on the March public sale.

Gibson, a seam-bowling allrounder, has no prior senior captaincy expertise. Regardless of that, the Sunrisers have handed her the management position for the upcoming season. She is presently a part of England’s squad for this month’s T20 World Cup.

Gibson’s Report Contract Units the Stage

The 2026 Hundred public sale in March was a bidding struggle for Gibson between Sunrisers Leeds and Welsh Hearth. Sunrisers received that battle, securing her signature for £190,000, roughly US$255,000, making her the costliest English signing within the girls’s competitors.

The determine drew important consideration. Gibson herself admitted the interval after the public sale was tough. She advised The Cricketer this month that she felt “a bit like a fraud” and described the week following as not the nicest time, regardless of acknowledging how outstanding the scenario was.

That honesty has earned her respect inside the cricket neighborhood. Now, with the captaincy added to her tasks, Gibson enters the Hundred beneath appreciable highlight.

Who Gibson Replaces and Who She Will Rely On

Gibson successfully steps into the sneakers of Hollie Armitage, who led Northern Superchargers to the Hundred title final 12 months. Armitage moved to MI London, previously Oval Invincibles, following the public sale, leaving the captaincy place open at Sunrisers Leeds.

Gibson won’t be in need of skilled help. Kate Cross, retained by Sunrisers earlier than the public sale, will likely be a key senior determine within the squad. Australian left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen and batter Lauren Winfield-Hill additionally add skilled voices to the dressing room.

Cross spoke immediately about what lies forward for Gibson. She acknowledged it is going to be a problem, pointing to the elevated media presence at each Hundred sport and the strain that comes with the territory, no matter what a participant earns.

Cross added that what England followers have seen from Gibson not too long ago is a participant discovering her position and gaining readability in how she performs her cricket. Cross backed her to be a robust addition for the Sunrisers in Leeds.

The 2026 Girls’s Hundred Captaincy Image Takes Form

With Gibson’s appointment confirmed, the captaincy image for the 2026 Girls’s Hundred is changing into clearer throughout the eight franchises. Hollie Armitage has been named MI London captain. Charlie Dean will lead London Spirit. Ellyse Perry takes cost of Birmingham Phoenix, and Meg Lanning captains Manchester Tremendous Giants.

These are high-profile names main their sides. Gibson joins that group as one of many much less skilled captains on paper, however the Sunrisers seem assured she will deal with the calls for of the position.

The Girls’s Hundred continues to develop as a contest. Broadcast protection has expanded, crowds have elevated, and the public sale costs replicate the rising profile of girls’s cricket in England. Gibson’s contract alone alerts the place the market stands now in comparison with even two or three years in the past.

For Gibson, the duty forward is evident. She enters the competitors as captain of a facet with real expertise round her, following a title-winning predecessor, and carrying the load of being the largest English identify within the public sale. How she handles the captaincy alongside her personal performances with bat and ball will likely be carefully watched all through the event.

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