After much speculations, it has been finally confirmed that India’s leading women’s internationals will take part in the inaugural edition of English cricket’s new The Hundred. Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma will all play in the pioneering 100 balls per side tournament, which features eight franchises all fielding men’s and women’s teams.
Harmanpreet, India's T20I skipper, will be part of the Manchester Originals while Mandhana has been signed up by Southern Brave. Deepti will represent the London Spirit franchise and Rodrigues will play for the Northern Superchargers. Shafali joins her national team colleagues as a late replacement for Sophie Devine who has opted out due to logistical difficulties. The young Indian opener takes the Kiwi all-rounder's spot at Birmingham Phoenix. Beth Barrett-Wild, Head of The Hundred Women competition expressed her joy at being able to get the Indian stars on board for what is undoubtedly ECB's most ambitious project till date. "They're a hugely exciting group of players and they'll bring a lot to the competition," said Beth. "I can't wait for July 21, I can't wait for the whole competition, and I can't wait for fans to see these world-class players doing what they do best."Harmanpreet, India's T20I captain, added: "It's very exciting that I'm going to get to play in the first ever game of The Hundred." It will be special to make history, especially with a women's match at such a big ground. We've played in front of some large crowds in India and it's always a great experience for the players."
