In the recently concluded WBBL draft, Jemmimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma emerged as Indian players who were given platinum-rated picks made by the Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Stars.
There have been many players who have been picked in the WBBL draft, with the likes of Smriti Mandhana picked pre-season by the Adelaide Strikers, Dayalan Hemalatha for the Perth Scorchers, Shikha Pandey for the Brisbane Heat, and Yastika Bhatia for the Melbourne Stars.
However, what shocked the players and spectators of Indian cricket was that WBBL’s Indian player with the most appearances, Harmanpreet Kaur, went unsold in the WBBL draft.
Jemimmah Rodrigues will reunite with Australian all-rounders Jess Jonassen and Shikha Pandey at Brisbane Heat Women camp. All three players have been former teammates playing in the WPL in India for the Delhi Capitals, while they also recently played together in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League for the Trinbago Knight Riders, as they lost the finals to the Barbados Royals.
Also, Deepti Sharma, who has been drafted into the Melbourne Stars team, will be seen playing under the leadership of Australian veteran Meg Lanning, alongside whom she was seen playing the recently concluded The Hundred Women’s for the London Spirits, which they eventually won.
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However, alongside Harmanpreet, even WPL’s most sensational spinner and highest wicket-taker, Shreyanka Patil, was also not picked in the drafts. This was likely because of the Australian playing conditions; however, still, the fans reasoned that Patil could be handy in trapping batters getting caught in their attempt to clear the boundary.
Many players like Deandra Dottin were picked for the Melbourne Renegades, as she recently returned from international retirement. Alice Capsey was drafted in by the Renegades as well, while players like Amie Kerr were pre-signed by the Sydney Sixers, and Hayley Mathews was also retained by the Renegades, as they two were relocated to the platinum category.
