The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced that the inaugural edition of The Hundred, which was postponed last year owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, will take place this year. In the Hundred competition, up to five Indian women cricket players will compete for different teams. India's Women's Team, for example, travelled to the United Kingdom (UK) earlier this month to play England's Women's team in a lone Test match, followed by three One Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals. The India Women's tour of England will take place from June 16 to July 15, while The Hundred will take place from July 21 to August 21. Here are 5 gems from the Indian Women’s team who will be featuring in the first ever edition of The Hundred:
Harmanpreet Kaur (Manchester Originals)
The current Indian skipper will feature for Manchester Originals in the tournament. Harman is best known for an incredible performance against Australia in the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup semi-finals: smashing 171 not out off just 115 balls — the second-highest score by an India player that day was 36 – Harmanpreet set up a stunning 36-run victory.
Smriti Mandhana (Southern Brave)
With Mandhana teaming up with England's Danni Wyatt up top, the Southern Brave undoubtedly have one of the most lethal opening pairings in international cricket. The 25-year-old left-handed batsman has already played in 143 games for India across all forms and was awarded ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year in 2018.
Shafali Verma (Birmingham Phoenix)
Shefali has been included in the Birmingham Phoenix squad as a replacement for New Zealand star player Sophie Devine. The 17-year-old has already appeared in 29 games for India across all forms and is the world's No. 1 T20I batsman, with an average of 27.70 and an imposing strike rate of 145.19 after 25 innings in the shortest format.
Deepti Sharma (London Spirit)
Deepti will play alongside the England national side skipper Heather Knight. Deepti Sharma is currently placed at no.4 in the ICC ODI all-rounder rankings and is fifth in the T20I rankings. The 23-year-old off-spinner averages less than 30 with the ball in all three international forms and has an ODI century to her record.
Jemimah Rodrigues (Northern Superchargers)
The 20-year-old right-hander, who has been dubbed "India's next great thing," is in the midst of a slump – her previous eight international innings have yielded six single-figure scores – but will be anxious to return to her imposing best for Northern Superchargers. She has a strike rate of just over 111 in 47 T20Is for India.
