WBBL 2024 Draft: Jemimah Rodrigues joins Brisbane Heat, Melbourne Stars rope in Deepti Sharma

Brisbane Heat signed star India cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues for the upcoming edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). She has represented Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades previously and played 20 matches in the league, scoring 377 runs at a strike rate of 111.53. She skipped the last edition of the competition but is back for the 2024 edition.

She recently represented Trinbago Knight Riders in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL), where she played five matches and scored 105 runs, including a crucial unbeaten 59 against Barbados Royals, which helped Trinbago qualify for the finals. 

Meanwhile, all-rounder Deepti Sharma will be playing for Melbourne Stars in the upcoming season. She performed fantastically for the London Spirit in the Women’s Hundred, scoring 212 runs in eight matches at a strike rate of 132.50 to finish as the seventh-leading run-scorer of the tournament. She also picked up eight wickets at an economy rate of 6.85. She is currently an important part of the Indian national team and will have a big responsibility of delivering in the upcoming T20 World Cup in October before the WBBL kicks off.

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Deepti has played for Sydney Thunders in the 2021-22 edition , when she managed 211 runs in 13 matches and also picked up 13 wickets. The Agra-born cricketer is in brilliant form at the moment and will be key for India in the T20 World Cup as well. After that, she will travel to Australia for WBBL, which will begin on October 27. The Stars will play their first game against the Perth Scorchers on the same day.

Shikha Pandey joins Brisbane Heat

Meanwhile, India pacer Shikha Pandey has joined Jemimah Rodrigues at Heat. The duo played together for Trinbago in the WCPL and will pair again at the WBBL. The 35-year-old wasn’t very effective with the ball in the WCPL as she picked up only four wickets. However, she proved her worth with the bat, scoring 90 runs. 

Melbourne Stars signed Yastika Bhatia in the draft. The 23-year-old had a cracking time in the Women’s Premier League earlier in the year but failed to attract franchises for Women’s Hundred or WCPL. However, looking at her potential and form, the Stars signed her in the third round of the draft. 

On the other hand, Perth Scorchers roped in Dayalan Hemalatha. She has represented India in 23 T20Is and scored 276 runs and picked up nine wickets. She has played 16 matches for Gujarat Giants in the WPL, scoring 266 runs. The 29-year-old is also in India’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Among other top cricketers, Heather Knight has been retained by Sydney Thunder, the Sixers retained Sophie Ecclestone, Adelaide Strikers retained Laura Wolvaardt, Melbourne Renegades signed Hayley Matthews, the Stars drafted Marizanne Kapp, while Thunder signed Shabnim Ismail.