Harmanpreet Kaur only Indian player to get picked in WBBL overseas draft | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur has been retained by the Melbourne Renegades in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) overseas draft, making her the sole Indian player to secure a spot in the prestigious league.
Among the 18 Indian players featured in the inaugural WBBL overseas draft, which included talents like Yastika Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Deepti Sharma, only Harmanpreet Kaur received an opportunity.
Harmanpreet, designated in the platinum category, had an impressive stint with the Renegades during the 2021-22 season. She scored a total of 406 runs in 12 innings, maintaining an average of 58.00 and a striking rate of 130.96. Her notable performances included three half-centuries and a top score of 81 not out. Additionally, she showcased her bowling prowess by taking 15 wickets at an economy rate of 7.45, with her best figures being 3 for 22.

Harmanpreet initially made her WBBL debut with the Sydney Thunder in the 2016-17 season. Renegades’ head coach, Simon Helmot, expressed his delight at retaining both Harmanpreet and Hayley Matthews of the West Indies, stating, “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. 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 boasts an extensive list of domestic franchise T20 teams, including Lancashire Thunder, Supernovas, Manchester Originals, Trent Rockets (The Hundred), and Mumbai Indians (Women’s Premier League), showcasing her prowess as a sought-after player in T20 cricket on the global stage.
The WBBL overseas draft also included Indian players such as 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.
(With inputs from PTI)