The Hundred: Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma to play before England tour

The Hundred: After a successful Commonwealth Games 2022 campaign, Indian Women’s Cricket team stars Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodrigues will join their respective teams for The Hundred. The ECB-hosted competition is currently in action and the three stars have bagged contracts for the second season, offering them much-needed practice ahead of the tour of England starting next month. Follow India women’s Tour of England live updates on Insidesport.IN

Also Read: The Hundred: Is something cooking? Ravi Shastri, Mukesh Ambani, Sundar Pichai spotted in The Hundred: Check Details

The Hundred: After CWG 2022 heroics, Indian trio Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma set to play The Hundred ahead of England tour – Check out

Just over a week after they bagged the silver medal at the CWG 2022 in Birmingham, the Indian trio of Deepti Sharma, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues will be in action during The Hundred. Rodrigues was amongst the first overseas players to commit to the second season of the tournament having starred in the inaugural season last year. She was the top scorer for the Northern Superchargers last year, scoring 249 runs at a strike rate of 151, being the second highest run-getter of the tournament.

Rodrigues will open the batting for the Superchargers as she did last time, potentially with CWG 2022 finalist Alyssa Healy. The 21-year-old had a good games debut batting at a variety of middle-order positions, scoring 146 runs to be amongst the top run-getters of the competition.

Another batter heading to The Hundred in form is Smriti Mandhana. The Indian vice-captain was the leading run-getter for Sydney Thunder in the WBBL last year, and scored the fastest T20I fifty for India in the Commonwealth Games. She will once again turn out for the Southern Brave, having scored 167 runs at a strike rate of 133.60 last year. Mandhana has a strike rate of over 147 in England, and the tournament serves as good match practice before India Women’s tour of England.

The Hundred: After CWG 2022 heroics, Indian trio Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma set to play The Hundred ahead of England tour – Check out

Deepti Sharma was not initially part of The Hundred but was picked up as a wildcard by the Birmingham Phoenix. She had featured for the London Spirit last season and was their highest wicket-taker. A handy middle-order batter, Deepti adds more balance and options to the Phoenix, who had Shafali Verma in their ranks last year.

Deepti had an economy rate of 5.58 – the fifth best – in the CWG despite bowling in the powerplay and death. She will play three games at the ground where India featured in the Commonwealth Games, making her an asset for the Phoenix.

The game time certainly suits the trio with India set to play three ODIs and three T20Is against England in a series starting next month. The ODIs are part of the 2022–2025 ICC Women’s Championship, with the final match of the tour taking place at Lord’s.