Reports | Mandhana, Harmanpreet, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma set to feature in The Hundred

05/06/2021

The power-packed Indian quartet of Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma are all set to feature in the inaugural edition of ‘The Hundred’, with the BCCI said to have already issued the players a NOC. Shafali Verma, too, is believed to be in the franchises’ radar.

The inaugural edition of The Hundred is all set to be spiced up with a strong Indian flavour as four Indian superstars - Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma - are all set to feature in the competition. All the four aforementioned cricketers have prior experience playing professional cricket in England, having featured in the Kia Super League, and the women, who were all part of the Indian side that reached the WT20 Final in 2020, will now be taking part in the inaugural edition of The Hundred.

ESPN Cricinfo have reported that the BCCI have already issued the four players No Objection Certificates (NOCs) and all that’s remaining is for the ECB to confirm the signings. Announcements about the signing are expected to be imminent. Kaur, Mandhana, Sharma and Rodrigues, according to the website, are set to represent Manchester Originals, Southern Brave, London Spirit and Northern Superchargers respectively.

But there could yet be a fifth Indian in The Hundred as ESPN Cricinfo also have reported that Shafali Verma, the number one T20 batter in the world, is also on the radar of many franchises. Verma, unlike many of her teammates, is yet to play franchise cricket outside India, but it is believed that the 17-year-old is currently a ‘front-runner’ to be a replacement, should any of the already-signed overseas player pull out of the competition.

The inaugural edition of The Hundred will kick off on July 21 at The Oval.