Smriti Mandhana will miss the WBBL for the second consecutive season since she did not submit her name for the first player draught.
Vice-captain of the Indian women’s team Smriti Mandhana will miss the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) for the second consecutive season since she did not submit her name for the September 3 player draft’s first round of voting. Nearly all of the top players from India, including Harmanpreet Kaur, the youthful Harleen Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Deepti Sharma, are on the list of more than 122 foreign players who have submitted their names for the draught. The list includes 18 Indian athletes, of which Jemimah (Melbourne Stars) and Harmanpreet (Melbourne Renegades) are eligible for retention.
Mandhana, who decided against playing in the WBBL last year as well, reportedly wants to focus on the next domestic season while carefully managing her workload in preparation for a hectic international year.
According to an article in ESPNcricinfo, Mandhana may decide to represent Maharashtra in the domestic season, which will run from October 19 to January 26 of the following year and overlap with the WBBL.
Starting on October 19, the WBBL will last till December 2.
The Hangzhou Asian Games, which will begin on September 23, will be Mandhana’s maiden duty for the nation.
England tops the roster of international players in the draught pool with 35 players, followed by South Africa with 20, which includes their flamboyant opener Laura Wolvaardt, Lizelle Lee, and Shabnim Ismail.
India players in the WBBL draft: 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.
