India’s T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur created history as she became only the first Indian to win the player of the tournament award in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).
The swashbuckling all-rounder made some incredible contributions with both bat and ball in the tournament. The right-hand bat muscled 399 runs in 11 innings and is among the top 10 run-getters in the competition. She has smashed three half-centuries with the best score of 81. With the ball, the right arm off-spinner has scalped 15 wickets in 12 innings at an average of 20.40.
Harmanpreet is only the third overseas player to win the player of the tournament award. New Zealand’s Sophie Devine and Amy Satterthwaite have won the award in the past.
Player of the Tournament in WBBL 👇
🇦🇺Meg Lanning : WBBL01
🇦🇺Beth Mooney : WBBL02
🇳🇿Amy Satterthwaite : WBBL03
🇦🇺Ellyse Perry : WBBL04
🇳🇿Sophie Devine : WBBL05
🇳🇿Sophie Devine : WBBL06
🇮🇳Harmanpreet Kaur : WBBL07 #WBBL— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) November 24, 2021
Playing for Melbourne Renegades, Kaur has played an instrumental role in the team’s success. Melbourne Renegades have reached the Challenger, in other words, the semi-final, and are just one win away from taking on Perth Scorchers in the final of WBBL|07.
While the 32-year old cricketer has been doing well in the global leagues such as WBBL, The Hundred, to name a few, there is still no news on women’s IPL happening any time soon in the cricketer’s own backyard.
This season of WBBL saw eight Indian players playing the tournament. Richa Ghosh, Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Deepti Sharma, and Jemimah Rodrigues were the players beside Harmanpreet Kaur to feature in the WBBL.
The comeback we will have been waiting for!
Harmanpreet Kaur has made India proud 😍🇮🇳#WBBL2021 #WBBL07 pic.twitter.com/RRFNHyf2LV
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) November 24, 2021
While commenting on a likely Women’s IPL in near future, she said, “I think we have been looking at this for a long time and I hope, you know, sooner this women’s IPL will also start and we will also invite overseas players over there so that they can also share their experience with our domestic players. I think this is something we are really waiting for and I hope, you know, this will start. Performance is something which is in our hands and that’s what we have been doing and the rest of the things are totally dependent on BCCI and the cricket board. We can’t do something extra on that but we can only request and that’s what we have done, you know, for many years. They know better than us. They know when to do it and how to start and they are also thinking about that and I’m sure, you know, they will definitely come up with something for women’s cricket.”
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.
