The extravaganza, fun and frolic of the Hundred is about to take over the United Kingdom for the next month. After the excitement and thrill of the Ashes, the viewers’ wait for some blockbuster short-format cricket will finally end with the third edition of the 100-ball competition set to kick off at Trent Bridge with the men’s defending champions Trent Rockets taking on Southern Brave, the inaugural winners in the men’s competition.
Since the men’s and women’s competitions run simultaneously in the Hundred, the audiences, the viewers and the players get to see the whole diaspora at a particular venue and it will be no different this time around. Amidst all the star representation from around the world in both competitions, there are a few Indian players too taking part. After just three players participated in the 2022 edition, there are two new players added to the roster this time around, while Deepti Sharma who played for London Spirit in 2021 and Birmingham Phoenix last year is missing this time around.
Here’s a look at four Indian players taking part in the Hundred this year:
1. Smriti Mandhana: The Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has become the first Indian player to feature in all three seasons of the Hundred. Mandhana, who was one of the stars of Southern Brave in the inaugural edition, was retained by Brave in the second season and even though she bleft early, she has been retained for the third straight season. Mandhana was the only Indian player to be retained ahead of the third edition of the women’s Hundred.
2. Harmanpreet Kaur: The Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur returns to the Hundred after missing the 2022 season but with a new team. Harmanpreet played for the Manchester Originals in the first season and was picked by the Trent Rockets ahead of the 2023 edition as the Indian captain is set to reunite with her Mumbai Indians teammate Nat Sciver-Brunt.
3. Richa Ghosh: The first injury replacement of the season was Rich Ghosh. The promising Indian wicketkeeper batter Ghosh has been on the franchises’ radar and having played for the Hobart Hurricanes in the WBBL, she will now make her debut in the Hundred replacing Georgia Redmayne in the London Spirit squad. Ghosh will also reunite with her Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate and now Spirit captain, Heather Knight.
4. Jemimah Rodrigues: The final signing of the season as far as Indians are concerned, was Jemimah Rodrigues. The Mumbai and Team India batter almost didn’t play the 2023 edition after playing the first two seasons for the Northern Superchargers after not finding any takers in the draft. But a late injury to Heather Graham of Australia meant a recall for Jemimah for the same team, she played in the first two seasons and will be hoping to have a significant impact.
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