The draft for the tenth edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) took place on September 1, with 8 teams in the competition adding to their squads ahead of the much-awaited season.
6 Indian players were picked in the draft, including star opener Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, and Jemimah Rodrigues. While the Indian contingent is expected to miss the start of the tournament, they should be available to play during the later stages.
Mandhana was the pre-draft pick of the reigning champions, Adelaide Strikers. With this, the opener becoming the first Indian player to be pre-signed by a BBL team.
Within the draft, the earliest Indian player drafted was Deepti Sharma as the fourth pick by the Melbourne Stars. This comes after Deepti’s stellar performances for the London Spirit in Women’s Hundred which concluded recently.
Jemimah Rodrigues was the second Indian player picked in the first round, joining Brisbane Heat as the seventh pick. She was joined by pacer Shikha Pandey who was chosen by the Brisbane side as their 15th pick.
Dayalan Hemalatha was next to be chosen, as the first pick of the third round by Perth Scorchers. Yastika Bhatia was the last Indian player picked up, with the wicketkeeper-batter joining Deepti Sharma at the Melbourne Stars.
There were some Indian players who weren’t able to get any takers in the draft. This includes the Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Shreyanka Patil who won the purple cap and was a key player for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in WPL 2024.
WBBL10 is set to commence on 27th October, soon after the conclusion of the Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE.
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