India captain Harmanpreet Kaur has withdrawn from the Women’s Big Bash League due to a back injury, her franchise confirmed on Wednesday.
The 33-year-old plays for the Melbourne Renegades franchise and missed the opening two matches of the season for her side due to commitments with the national team. Harmanpreet led the Indians to the Asia Cup title in Sylhet, beating Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the final last week.
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But the star batter – who was the WBBL player of the tournament last season – will not be able to compete this season in Australia’s marquee T20 league.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s numbers in WBBL21
Batting: 406 runs from 12 inns
Bowling: 15 wickets from 13 inns
“Harmanpreet was fantastic for us last season and we were looking forward to having her as part of our squad again this year, but unfortunately she has been ruled out through injury,” Melbourne Renegades General Manager, James Rosengarten, said in a statement published on the team’s website.
Pooja Vastrakar and Jemimah Rodrigues were the other two Indians who had been signed up to play in WBBL this year. Rodrigues has already reached Australia, where she will be playing for Melbourne Stars this season, switching sides in the city from Renegades.