Smriti Mandhana has decided not to participate in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) for the 2nd time. This league is a significant cricket tournament for women. The reason for her absence is that she hasn’t registered her name for the upcoming player draft, which is set to take place on September 3rd.
The women’s Big Bash League draft is an event where teams select players for their squads. This is the second time in a row that Smriti Mandhana won’t be part of the Women’s Big Bash League. Notably, Mandhana was part of the recently concluded Women’s Hundred tournament for the Southern Braves.
A number of highly regarded players from India are part of this list of Women’s Big Bash League. This includes not only the captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, but also emerging talents like Harleen Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Deepti Sharma. These players have all decided to register their names for the draft, where teams choose players for a sports league.
In this list of Women’s Big Bash League, there are more than 122 players from different countries who have shown interest in being part of this draft. This is a process where teams take turns picking players to join their team for the upcoming league. And among these players, the Indian ones mentioned earlier are getting a lot of attention due to their skills and reputation in the game.
Out of the entire group, there are 18 players from the India cricket team who are part of this list. Notably, Harmanpreet and Jemimah have the option to be retained by their respective teams in Women’s Big Bash League.
I want to concentrate on domestic season- Smriti Mandhana to ESPNcricinfo
Mandhana, who decided not to participate in the WBBL last year, has made a similar choice again. This time, it’s because she wants to focus more on the upcoming domestic cricket season. She also wants to be mindful of how much she takes on, considering the busy schedule of international matches in the coming year.
Earlier, a report from ESPNcricinfo mentioned that Smriti Mandhana is considering the possibility of representing Maharashtra in the upcoming domestic cricket season.
This season is scheduled to take place from October 19th to January 26th next year. Interestingly, this timeframe coincides with the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), a prominent international cricket tournament.
This potential decision by Mandhana to play for her home state team could lead to her missing out on participating in the Women’s Big Bash League due to the overlapping schedules of the two events.
Players from India who are in the draft for WBBL
Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur (Melbourne Renegades), Harleen Deol, Hurley Gala, Richa Ghosh, Mannat Kashyap, Amanjot Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Shreyanka Patil, Sneh Rana, Jemimah Rodrigues (Melbourne Stars), Meghana Sabbineni, Deepti Sharma, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav.
The WBBL (Women’s Big Bash League) is set to start on October 19 and will continue until December 2. A significant event for Mandhana will be her first duty representing the country at the Hangzhou Asian Games. The Asian Games which are planned to begin on September 23.
