India’s Twenty20 International skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will return to Lancashire Thunder in England’s KIA Super League, the side announced in a press release on Wednesday.
Kaur had a solid start to her career at Thunder scoring 164 runs in the tournament last year at an average of 32 and strike rate of 151.85, the highest in the Lancashire side. She also hit an unbeaten 34, which included the match-winning six in the final over at the Oval to defeat eventual champions Surrey Stars.
“I am delighted to sign with Lancashire Thunder once again for the Kia Super League,” said Kaur. “I really enjoyed my first spell in Lancashire, everybody made me feel very welcome and I have some great friends in the dressing room, who I can’t wait to play with again.
“It is a very talented squad and I know we will all be hungry to go one further this year, following the disappointment of narrowly missing out on Finals Day in 2018.”
Alex Blackwell, coach of Thunder, said: “Harmanpreet made a fantastic start last summer, holding her nerve in the final over to hit the winning runs at Surrey after joining up with the squad late.
“She also played a great knock in our Roses victory against Yorkshire in Blackpool and I am certain that she will be determined to showcase even more of her skills this summer.
“It is great to have one of the world’s leading T20 batters in our ranks once again.”
Western Storm also welcomed back India opener Smriti Mandhana while all-rounder Deepti Sharma will be part of the Storm team in the upcoming season. Teenager Jemimah Rodrigues will be playing for Yorkshire Diamonds.