Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma are leading platinum picks in the second Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) overseas draft. Rodrigues reunited with Jess Jonassen after being Brisbane Heat’s first pick while Deepti was Melbourne Stars’ first pick.
Rodrigues and Jonassen are now teammates at Delhi Capitals in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and Trinbago Knight Riders (WCPL), while Deepti played with Stars captain Meg Lanning of the London Spirit in the recent Women’s Hundred title.
Melbourne Renegades, who had three picks, went to Deandra Dottin in the platinum category. Dottin recently called off his international retirement and was selected in the West Indies squad for the T20 World Cup 2024. As a result, Hayley Matthews, who was previously signed by the Renegades, was given the gold category as their second round pick. Interestingly, they resisted the temptation to play India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who played for them in the past, with their high spin stock following the acquisition of Sophie Molienux.
The Heat have named Shikha Pandey as their number 15 player, and that means Nadine de Klerk, who signed before qualifying, has been allocated to the silver section. It will be Pandey’s first WBBL season, although he has played club cricket in Queensland alongside a few Heat players. He was reunited with Delhi Capitals and TKR teammates, Rodriguez and Jonassen.
The Stars have also picked wicket-taker Yastika Bhatia as their third player, retaining the pick of Alice Capsey, who has been fielded by the Renegades.
D Hemalatha and Beth Mooney’s familiarity with Gujarat Giants in the WPL also helped her to be included in the Perth Scorchers squad, which assigned the platinum division to their previously signed captain Sophie Devine. Amy Jones, who was part of their squad last year, was nominated in the gold category.
The Strikers selected third, in the final round, was Ireland allrounder Orla Prendergast. He bats in the middle and bowls the seam, having recently captained Ireland in the ODIs against Sri Lanka. While the Strikers were successful in picking in the second round, the third and fourth rounds saw five teams overstep their bounds.
“We think he’s a very good player,” Strikers captain Tahlia McGrath, who was at the draft table, said of Prendergast. “He hasn’t played many leagues overseas but he has a bright future, we played him in Ireland last year and he has a lot of talent. [I] I can’t wait to see what he has in store for the franchise in blue.”
With Amelia Kerr previously signed by the Sixers as a gold-class selection, they could have a powerful spin-bowling combination with Ecclestone. Northern Superchargers senior Hollie Armitage has joined the draft for the Charlotte Edwards-coached team.
The presence of six Indians is the most important factor in the WBBL schedule.
How the WBBL draft played out
Hobart Hurricanes: Danni Wyatt, Chloe Tryon, Lizelle Lee (reserved)
Sydney Sixers: Sophie Ecclestone (retained), Amelia Kerr (previously signed), Hollie Armitage
Melbourne Renegades: Deandra Dottin, Hayley Matthews (pre-signed), Alice Capsey
Melbourne Stars: Deepti Sharma, Marizanne Kapp (previously signed), Yastika Bhatia
Sydney Thunder: Heather Knight (retained), Shabnim Ismail, Chamari Athapaththu (pre-signed), Georgia Adams
Adelaide Strikers: Laura Wolvaardt (reserved), Smriti Mandhana (previously signed), Orla Prendergast
Brisbane heat: Jemimah Rodrigues, Shikha Pandey, Nadine de Klerk
Perth Scorchers: Sophie Devine (previously signed), Amy Jones, D Hemalatha
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