Women’s T20 Challenge: From Ecclestone to Dottin, the top foreign stars in a depleted field

The 2020 edition of the Women’s T20 Challenge – the exhibition tournament played during the Indian Premier League – was announced to almost controversial response by Australia’s reigning world champion cricketers. The event in Dubai was to be played alongside the IPL 2020 playoffs and therefore clashed with the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia – the premier T20 league in the world for women.

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This meant that neither would India’s top stars play at the WBBL nor could the cream of world cricket compete in the Indian exhibition tourney; the two best leagues in terms of experience and economics.

However, the BCCI has managed to put together well-rounded if depleted squads for the three teams with 12 international players in the fray along with all the top Indian stars in action.

The Australians will miss out on the tournament for the second straight year, and many big names from New Zealand, South Africa and England will also not be part of the Indian event.

It is, however, a chance still for some Indian youngsters to train and play with top international talent.

Here’s a look at the top overseas cricketers to watch out for at the Women’s T20 Challenge 2020.

Sophie Ecclestone

Sophie Eccelestone is undoubtedly the biggest coup for WT20C.

The England spinner is the world No 1 T20 bowler and one of the most consistent players on the international circuit. She opted out of the WBBL because of the quarantine rules in place, after spending time in the bio secure bubble during the international cricket summer. But Perth Scorchers’ loss was BCCI’s gain as she will be part of Trailblazers.

Having played cricket for both England and Thunder in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy very recently, she will be in good touch as well. The 21-year-old was in great form at the T20 World Cup earlier this year with eight wickets in four matches and a stingy economy rate of 3.23. She was among the wickets in the series against West Indies in September as well. Considering all the matches will be held in Sharjah where the wickets have slowed down during the IPL, her canny spin will play a key role to prevent the opposition from posting a high score.

Big-hitting opener Danni Wyatt is the other big name from England, playing for Velocity. She is expected to open with India’s Shafali Verma, forming one of the most potent opening attacks.

Deandra Dottin

West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin can be lethal with both and ball but it is her blistering batting that can set the stage on fire in the Women’s T20 Challenge, Having played cricket recently in England, she will be key for the Trailblazers. Against England in September, Deandra Dottin was the leading run scorer with 185 runs, including two fifties. The 29-year-old has also started bowling again after a serious shoulder injury and last month moved five places to 15th position in the list of all-rounders. Whether she bowls in Sharjah or not, she would be raring to go with the bat on the ground known for six-hitting. She recently reached the 100-sixes milestone in T20I cricket as well, the first woman to do so.

Sune Luus

The South Africa all-rounder will be a valuable addition to the Velocity side, having the experience of played in 74 T20Is. She had a middling World Cup, her last tournament due to the sports shutdown, except a stunning all-round show against Thailand. The 24-year-old will be keen to start afresh after missing out on international cricket as her country’s tour to England got cancelled in the summer. Her incisive legbreak could be crucial on the Sharjah track and her batting could prove to be an ace in a top-heavy order.

Chamari Athapaththu

The Sri Lanka captain is a devastating bat on her day and will be playing for the defending champions Supernovas. The 30-year-old, like most cricketers from Asia, hasn’t played competitive cricket since the T20 World Cup in March. But at the tournament Down Under, she was the sixth highest run-getter at a strike rate of 135.08. The 30-year-old has scored 1646 runs in 85 T20Is and with her big-hitting chops, has the potential to exploit the field dimensions in Sharjah. Along with Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues, she is part of a scary top order.

Salma Khatun

The Bangladesh captain will be making her Women’s T20 Challenge debut marking her first outing since February at the World Cup. The all-rounder was in good form at the event, with a super 3/7 against New Zealand. Bangladesh pacer Jahanara Alam will also return to the Velocity squad. She didn’t have the best of tournaments in Australia and after a long break will be raring to go.

Honourable mention: Natthakan Chantham

Chantham is the first ever player from Thailand in the Women’s T20 Challenge, continuing her national team’s rise in cricket after the World Cup debut earlier in the year. She was the first from her country to hit a half century at the T20 World Cup.

The schedule for Women’s T20 Challenge: