Harmanpreet Kaur and Sushma Verma leave Railways to play for their state sides

The women cricketers Harmanpreet Kaur and Sushma Verma are set to end their stint with Railways ahead of the domestic season. Both of them were part of the squad which stormed into the finals of the ICC Women’s World Cup in England earlier this year. Unfortunately, they lost to the hosts in a heartbreaking run chase at the home of cricket in London. But the team won the hearts of every cricket fan back home as they were welcomed back with a huge ovation at the airport.

Especially, Harmanpreet hogged the limelight with her swashbuckling knock of 171* against the defending champions Australia in the semi-final. Her whirlwind innings blew the Kangaroos away and they never recovered from that position. Sushma, on the other hand, was swift behind the wickets throughout the tournament and affected brilliant dismissals. At one stage she was being compared with MS Dhoni who is the best wicketkeeper in the World in Men’s cricket. Though, both the cricketers are now ready to star in the domestic season after a long break.

Both are likely to lead their state teams

Harmanpreet Kaur and Sushma Verma will play for their respective state teams Punjab and Himachal Pradesh as they decided to leave Railways. While the former is most likely to lead Punjab, the latter will take the reigns of Himachal in her hands. The Punjab girl, however, will not be available for most of the season as she would be likely to renew her contract with Sydney Thunder in Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).

Apart from them, Sneh Rana and Paramita Roy will feature for Punjab and Bengal respectively. But Bengal will also miss the services of Sukanya Parida who will play for Railways this season. Veda Krishnamurthy is also set to make her debut in the lucrative WBBL this year. Deepti Sharma is the leading candidate to replace Kaur in Punjab side according to ESPN Cricinfo. Though the domestic season will be exciting to watch this time around as most of the big guns are available to feature for their sides.

“Playing in the Elite and facing teams like Railways will give us a good exposure. For most, domestic matches are the only platform to make an impression on the selectors. I desperately want to bat this season so I can carry that confidence into the international circuit,” Verma said as quoted by Cricket Country.