Mumbai Indians’ cricketer Nicola Carey is having the best time of her life at the moment. After hitting the winning runs for Hobart Hurricanes in the last season of Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) final against Perth Scorchers for a maiden title, the Australia all-rounder has been unveiled as the new skipper of the side replacing Elyse Villani.
A Hobart Hurricanes stalwart, Carey has played 88 games for the club, since moving from from in 2019. But that’s not the only happy news in Carey’s life. The 33-year-old was one of the retained players by Mumbai Indians in , and is also set to star a new innings, with her partner Villani outside the cricket field, in the form of parenthood.
Carey and her long-term partner Villani had announced in May earier this year that they are expecting their first child together, due in November. They shared the news on social media, with a picture of baby clothes and ultrasound images. They captioned the post, “Next chapter loading for us… Baby boy due November”.
While Carey is still playing for Australia and other franchise cricket, the 37-year-old Villani called time on her career with a desire to start a family. “Poor thing, Elyse has to carry the baby and do all the admin for the house. We’re both very much looking forward to having a little one,” Carey was quoted as saying by ABC News.
Carey had been in Cricket Australia’s scheme of things since 2012. She served as a replacement player for Australia during the 2012 and 2016 Women’s T20 World Cups, before eventually making her his international debut in 2018. The seam-bowling allrounder featured in the 2020 T20 World Cup and played just a single game in the 2022 edition.
However, lack of opportunities post 2022, made her decline a Cricket Australia central contract in 2023, in order to get proper game time in the domestic cricket. The decision paid highly for Carey as she plundered 696 runs for champions Tasmania in the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) and developed her game, especially in the T20 format.
During her four-year absence from the national setup, Carey had success with Tasmania and Hobart Hurricanes in WBBL and also evolved as a new-ball bowler, forcing the selectors to take a note. She made an Australian comeback against India and West Indies in 2026 and was also a part of the T20 World Cup side that took place in England.
Carey was among the 11 players retained by the Mumbai Indians for WPL 2027. Carey was bought for ₹30 lakhs during the WPL 2026 auction. The Australian played six games for Mumbai Indians in WPL 2026, picking up seven wickets and also scored 149 runs with a best of 40.
Mumbai Indians, who had the smallest purse of ₹90 lakh heading into the WPL 2027 auction, bought six uncapped players – Shweta Sehrawat, Akshita Bhagat, Disha Kasat, Latika Inamdar, Bharti Rawal and Sanika Chalke. Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the side.
