Sydney Thunder’s star pacer Shabnim Ismail has decided to back out from the WBBL this year. The South African bowler, suffered a knee injury during the West Indies tour and the Thunder club announced her withdrawal on Monday.
Ismail played a crucial role in the Thunder’s win over the Melbourne Stars in the last season. In the final match, she took 2 wickets off 12 balls. This included the opponent skipper Meg Lanning’s important wicket as well. Thanks to this performance, Thunder won the league. This was one of the best bowling performances of the League for which Ismail also earned the Player of the Match title.
Sydney Thunder Coach Trevor Griffin expressed his disappointment, “She took a bad knock, and unfortunately, Shabnim won’t be able to play in this season’s WBBL competition. It’s terrible news because she’s been an important member of Sydney Thunder over the last couple of seasons. She showed her class in the final against the Melbourne Stars at North Sydney Oval last year. I’m just as disappointed for her because I know how much she enjoys being a part of Thunder Nation and the WBBL.”
Cricket NSW’s Head of Female Cricket Leah Poulton said, “It’s a huge loss for Sydney Thunder and also the WBBL competition. She’s a much-loved character in the Thunder team and that’s why, above everything else, we’re devastated that Shabnim can’t come out because she’s an important part of the group. They’ll obviously also miss her on the field because she’s that x-factor player who’s capable of turning a match on its head within an over. That’s a huge loss for any team. Thunder is currently “scouring world cricket to find a player who’ll provide Thunder’s attack with similar excitement and raw pace to Ismail”.
Sydney Thunder shared this unfortunate news on Twitter, “Shabnim Ismail has been ruled out of WBBL07 with a knee injury. Wishing Shabs a speedy recovery, hopefully, we’ll see her back in green next year.” Several disappointed fans wished for Ismail’s speedy recovery.
Ismail has chosen to take a rest for now to recover in time for the Proteas Women’s home series against West Indies in January.
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