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In a significant development for women's cricket, Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain of the Indian Women's Cricket Team, has emerged as the lone Indian player to be retained in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) overseas draft. The announcement was made by the Melbourne Renegades on Sunday. This comes despite a total of 18 Indian players, including the likes of Yastika Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Deepti Sharma, being listed in the inaugural WBBL overseas draft.
Placed in the prestigious platinum category, Harmanpreet Kaur was retained by the Melbourne Renegades along with Hayley Matthews from the West Indies. "I'm so pleased we got both of them (Harmanpreet and Hayley) and I'm looking forward to them working with us again this year," said Simon Helmot, the Renegades' head coach.
He elaborated on the retention decision, stating, "It was a tough decision -- do we go Harmanpreet at pick three, or do we go Hayley? Fortunately, it worked out for us that Harmanpreet was still available in the second round, so we could still get her as a Platinum pick."
Harmanpreet Kaur had an outstanding 2021-22 season with the Renegades, amassing 406 runs in 12 innings at an impressive average of 58.00 and a strike rate of 130.96. Her performance included three half-centuries and a top score of 81 not out. Additionally, she made a notable contribution with the ball, claiming 15 wickets at an economy rate of 7.45 and achieving her best figures of 3 for 22.
Her WBBL journey commenced with the Sydney Thunder during the 2016-17 season, and she has since then represented various T20 teams, including Lancashire Thunder, Supernovas, Manchester Originals, Trent Rockets (The Hundred), and Mumbai Indians (Women's Premier League).
Other Indian players who featured in the WBBL overseas draft but missed the cut include Harleen Deol, Hurley Gala, Richa Ghosh, Mannat Kashyap, Amanjot Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Shreyanka Patil, Sneh Rana, Meghana Sabbineni, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, and Radha Yadav.
The retention of Harmanpreet Kaur in the WBBL draft highlights the increasing importance of Indian players in international women's cricket and, in particular, showcases Kaur's rising stock as an all-around cricketer.
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