Shikha Pandey, a seasoned bowler who last donned national colors at the 2023 World Cup, shone in her debut Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) season with Brisbane Heat.
The veteran medium-pacer, who debuted for India in 2014, from 56 T20I innings claimed 43 wickets. Once a regular for the Indian side, she last featured in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, where she took three wickets across three games, including two crucial wickets in the semi-final against Australia. However, she has since been overlooked for the national squad.
This year, Shikha represented multiple franchise teams, including Delhi Capitals in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and Trinbago Knight Riders in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL). In the WPL 2024, she took nine wickets in nine innings, while her WCPL debut saw her take four wickets in five innings for Trinbago Knight Riders, with best figures of 2/26 against Barbados Royals, and was impressive with the bat as well, scoring 90 runs across 5 innings.
In her Women’s Big Bash League debut for Brisbane Heat, Shikha made an immediate impact in the season opener, taking 2/14 at an impressive economy of 3.50. Her wickets included South African captain Laura Wolvaardt (5) and wicketkeeper Bridget Patterson (7), playing a crucial role in restricting the defending champions, Adelaide Strikers, to 133.
While India did not advance to the World Cup semi-finals, Shikha was notably absent from the squad, a decision explained by former Indian spinner and current selector Neetu David, who recently was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. Highlighting the importance of fitness in modern cricket, Neetu David highlighted the importance of fitness, particularly in reference to Shikha Pandey. She acknowledged Shikha’s talent but emphasized that fitness is a critical factor in today’s game, influencing selection decisions. Neetu had mentioned the focus on strengthening the team’s bench, expressing optimism about the emergence of skilled pacers in the squad soon.
Watch Video: Shikha Pandey in WBBL 2024
Shikha Pandey’s spell comes to an end:
Overs: 4
Dot Balls: 14
Figures: 2/14👏 #WBBL10 pic.twitter.com/29QgBkawrL
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) October 27, 2024
Neetu David expressed, “She’s (Shikha Pandey) very good. But in today’s cricket, fitness is very important. It is a main criterion today. We needed to look at that too. We are working on bench strength. I hope everyone will see good pacers in the team in the time to come.”
(Quote sourced from Sportstar)
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