The Board of Control for Cricket in India has granted No Objection Certificates to four Indian women cricketers to play in the inaugural edition of The Hundred, the new cricket competition in the United Kingdom starting on July 21, according to multiple media reports.
BCCI has already sent the NOCs to the England and Wales Cricket Board and the official announcement is likely to made by the teams soon, reported ESPNCricinfo.
T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur, opener Smriti Mandhana and all-rounder Deepti Sharma are among the four bound for the 100-ball tournament, according to a PTI report. The name of the fourth player is not yet known.
It is understood that these four Indian players will extend their stay in the UK following the completion of India’s multi-format tour of England in June-July.
The tour begins with a one-off Test at Bristol on June 16 and concludes with the third and final T20I on July 15. A three-match ODI series is slotted in between.
The Indian team for the tour is yet to be announced while a new head coach is expected to be named soon by the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee.
“The players will be asked to report on May 27 for the tour,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying by PTI.
The selected players will report by the end of the month though it is not known how they will travel to the UK as flights from India have been suspended by the British government in the wake of unprecedented spike in Covid-19 cases.
In the past, Harmanpreet, Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodrigues played in the now-defunct Kia Super League, the ECB’s domestic T20 tournament that made way for the Women’s Hundred.
The Hundred, which was postponed last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will kick off with the women’s match between the Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals in London before their respective men’s sides meet the following day.
With no player draft for the women, teams are selected by their respective head coaches.
With PTI Inputs