India batter Jemimah Rodrigues has signed with Melbourne Renegades for her first-ever season at the WBBL and will be joined at the club by team-mate Harmanpreet Kaur.
Harmanpreet, who missed the recent ODI series against Australia due to injury, produced the iconic unbeaten 171 in the semi-final of the 2017 World Cup and has previously played for Sydney Thunder.
They take the number of Indian cricketers signed to six for the seventh season of the WBBL, with the selection of Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma (Sydney Thunder) and Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav (Sydney Sixers) announced earlier in the week. According to the reports circulating, there’s at least one more Indian signing to be made public yet.
Rodrigues, who is part of India’s squad for the ongoing multi-format tour of Australia, was the second-highest run-scorer at the Hundred tournament in the UK, where she made 249 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 150.90. Her form at the competition helped her overcome a poor performance with India side against England as she played only two ODIs, making 8 and 4, and was dropped for the T20Is altogether.
In Australia, she didn’t feature in the ODI leg of the tour and is likely to face strong competition from Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Punam Raut for a place in the XI of the pink-ball Test starting Thursday. She is, however, expected to return to the T20I side.
Jemimah talks about her selection
“I’m very excited to be here now and to be part of the Renegades,” Rodrigues said. “I think for me, the main goal over here will be just to pull back and play cricket, play some good cricket and enjoy what I’m doing. I know when I do that and when I’m in that headspace, I’m able to give it my best.
“The goal is whatever happens, I want to give it my 100 percent each and every time I’m on the field…I’m really looking forward to it and there’s so much that I’m going to learn, I’m sure about that.”
Renegades head coach hopeful of the Indian duo
“Jemimah is an immensely talented young player, who is already making her mark on the world stage at 21,” Helmot said. “She was superb recently in The Hundred over in the UK. Jemimah is a dynamic player who can score quickly and to all parts of the ground.”
On the addition of Harmanpreet, he said: “Harmanpreet’s record at international level over the past decade speaks for itself. She’s a match-winner and can take the game away from the opposition in a heartbeat. We also see Harmanpreet being an important addition for our group with her experience and leadership.”
Renegades Squad: Sophie Molineux (capt), Makinley Blows, Josie Dooley, Jess Duffin, Ellie Falconer, Holly Ferling, Poppy Gardner, Ella Hayward, Eve Jones, Harmanpreet Kaur, Carly Leeson, Rhiann O’Donnell, Jemimah Rodrigues, Georgia Wareham, Courtney Webb
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