The Hundred

From Shafali to Smriti: Getting to know the India players in The Hundred

by Wisden Staff July 20, 2021 - 4:11pm 3 minute read

The Hundred is here and set to get underway on July 21 – the women’s competition is set to feature five India players.

We give the lowdown on each of the players signed up for the brand new tournament.

Jemimah Rodrigues, Northern Superchargers

The 20-year-old right-hand batter, touted as one of the next big things in Indian cricket, is in the midst of a slump – her last eight international innings have resulted in six single-figure scores – but will be eager to get back to her formidable best for Northern Superchargers. She has played 47 T20Is for India with a strike rate of just over 111. With an excellent ability to rotate the strike, Jemimah has made it a habit to score tough runs for her side, and her experience of playing in the Kia Super League should come to her aid.

Smriti Mandhana, Southern Brave

Southern Brave could line-up with of the most devastating opening pairs in world cricket should Mandhana partner up with England’s Danni Wyatt up top. Just 25 years of age, the fluent left-handed batter has already turned out in 143 games for India across formats and, in 2018, was named the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year.

Harmanpreet Kaur, Manchester Originals

Devastating when in full flow, Harmanpreet Kaur, India’s T20I captain, is most famous for an extraordinary innings against Australia in the semi-finals of the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup: hitting 171 not out off just 115 balls – the second-highest score by an India player that day was 36 – Harmanpreet set up a famous 36-run win. Her experience of playing in the Kia Super League previously will be a boost and her off-breaks are handy too.

Deepti Sharma, London Spirit

Deepti Sharma is currently ranked fourth in the ICC ODI all-rounder’s rankings, and placed fifth in the T20I rankings. The 23-year-old off-spinner averages less than 30 with the ball in all three international formats and has an ODI hundred to her name.

Shafali Verma, Birmingham Phoenix

All eyes will be on Shafali Verma, who has burst onto the international stage with her pyrotechnics at the top of the India batting line-up. The 17-year-old has already played 29 games across formats for India and is the No.1-ranked T20I batter in the world: after 25 innings in the shortest form, she has an average of 27.70 and imposing strike rate of 145.19.