Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma who were granted NOCs by the BCCI to participate in The Hundred are in the process of completing contract formalities. Meanwhile, Shafali Verma is also on the radar of one team, but she will be called in as a replacement if there are last-minute withdrawals.
The ECB and the franchises are likely to make an official announcement soon. The four players – Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma are set to play for Manchester Originals, Southern Brave, Northern Superchargers and London Spirit in the first edition of The Hundred.
It has also come to light that the teenage batting sensation Shafali Verma is also on the radar of at least one team. However, she is likely to be a replacement player and the world No. 1 ranked T20I batter will be called up in case any player pulls out last-minute. The 17-year-old has lit up the cricketing world with her magnificent performances in the shortest format. She has represented India in 22 T20Is and has amassed 617 runs at an average of 29.38 while striking at 148.31. In fact, she set the stage on fire in the Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia in 2020, where he smashed 163 runs at a strike-rate of 158.25.
Verma is likely to be in the United Kingdom just before the start of the inaugural season of The Hundred as she will most probably be a part of the touring part of the Indian Women’s side. The Women in Blue are scheduled to face England in one Test match, three ODIs and three T20Is. The tour kicks off with a one-off Test match in Bristol on June 16. Meanwhile, the white-ball leg of the tour starts on June 27 and will finish on July 15.
Four Indian players are already going to extend their stay in the UK, and Verma could well become the fifth. With the 100-ball tournament starting on July 21 and Verma already in England, the 17-year-old batting sensation is likely to be one of the first replacements if there are any last-minute withdrawals.
However, both India and South Africa players might face travel issues. India has been added to the UK red-list, which has seen the latter ban all flights from India due to the rising Covid-19 cases in India. The Indian men’s team is also due to fly to England for the World Test Championship (WTC) final and the five-match Test series against England.
Meanwhile, direct flights have been suspended to the UK from South Africa as well. The ban has been in place since December 2020, and it hasn’t been lifted yet. However, a few South African cricketers travelled to the UK via different countries as they were a part of the County sides.
Chloe Tryon (Northern Spirit), Mignon du Preez and Lizelle Lee (Manchester Originals), Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp (Oval Invincibles) are the five South African cricketers who have been picked to play in The Hundred.
