Harmanpreet Kaur Retained By Melbourne Renegades In WBBL 2023-24 Draft, Becoming Only Indian Player To Get Picked

Women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur was the sole Indian cricketer to get picked in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) 2023-24 draft on Sunday, September 3. Harmanpreet Kaur has been retained by the Melbourne Renegades franchise for the upcoming edition of the tournament.

A total of 18 Indian women’s players were featured in the WBBL 2023-24 draft, including Yastika Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Deepti Sharma. However, none of them were picked by the franchises. Harmanpreet, who was placed in the platinum category, was retained by the Renegades.

Harmanpreet Kaur Made WBBL Debut During 2016-17 Season

Harmanpreet Kaur has a strong track record in the WBBL, amassing 1,119 runs in 48 matches at a strike rate of 121.63, including six half-centuries. She was named the player of the tournament in the WBBL 2021. She scored 406 runs in 12 innings at an average of 58.00 and a strike rate of 130.9.

The 34-year-old made her debut in the WBBL with the Sydney Thunder during the 2016-17 season. She represented the Renegades in the 2021 season. However, she missed the subsequent season due to a back injury sustained during India’s successful Women’s Asia Cup campaign.

I’m So Pleased – Melbourne Renegades Coach Simon Helmot

Speaking on Harmanpreet Kaur’s retention, Melbourne Renegades women’s head coach Simon Helmot expressed delight over the retention process for the upcoming season.

“I’m so pleased we got both of them (Harmanpreet and Hayley) and I’m looking forward to them working with us again this year. It was a tough decision — do we go Harmanpreet at pick three, or do we go Hayley? Fortunately, it worked out for us that Harmanpreet was still available in the second round, so we could still get her as a Platinum pick.”

RED RED RED ❤️ https://t.co/H3z0Ly2pwK

— Harmanpreet Kaur (@ImHarmanpreet) September 3, 2023

The WBBL overseas draft featured a list of Indian players, including Harleen Deol, Hurley Gala, Richa Ghosh, Mannat Kashyap, Amanjot Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Shreyanka Patil, Sneh Rana, Meghana Sabbineni, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, and Radha Yadav.

Also read: WPL 2024: ‘WPL Was Game-Changer, Some People Were More Interested In WPL Than IPL’ – Harmanpreet Kaur