India’s versatile cricketer, Deepti Sharma, has joined The Hundred Women’s competition for the 2024 season, signing up with London Spirit. This marks her return to the team after featuring in the inaugural edition back in 2021. Deepti will step in for Grace Harris, who has been sidelined due to injury. Previously, Deepti was associated with Birmingham Phoenix during the 2022 season but did not get an opportunity to play any matches.
Deepti Sharma signs up for London Spirit
Deepti Sharma, set for her third season in The Hundred after stints in 2021 and 2022, will miss the initial matches of the tournament due to her commitments with India’s Asia Cup 2024 squad. Erin Burns will step in for her in London Spirit’s first two games, with their campaign kicking off on July 24 against Southern Brave. Prior to Deepti, Richa Ghosh and Smriti Mandhana had also secured contracts for this season of The Hundred, representing Birmingham Phoenix and Southern Brave respectively. Both players will also miss the early fixtures due to their involvement in the Asia Cup. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed these recent player adjustments on Thursday, noting that Australian spinner Sophie Molineux will also sit out this year’s tournament.
Molineux was due to represent Manchester Originals. Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed that Grace Harris suffered a calf strain while Sophie Molineux suffered a fractured rib.
India start Women’s Asia Cup as favourites
Indian women’s team is currently playing in the Asia Cup 2024 where they will play Pakistan on the first day of the competition on June 19 (Friday). The match is a high-profile one given the rivalry between the two nations. India will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur while Pakistan will be led by the experienced allrounder Nida Dar.
India are coming into this tournament on the back of good form. The Women in Blue recently won the ODI series 5-0 and drew the T20I series 1-1 against South Africa at home.
India entered the 8-team tournament as the top contenders. They were placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, Nepal, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Group B, on the other hand, included hosts Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Malaysia.
In the tournament’s opening match, Nepal secured a victory over UAE, chasing down a target of 116 runs with 23 balls to spare.
Meanwhile, in the Men’s Hundred, England’s Test batsmen will be released for participation in the tournament after the conclusion of the third Test match against West Indies at Edgbaston. Ben Stokes, England’s captain, is scheduled to join the competition only for the latter part of the group stage, managing his workload effectively.
