Smriti Mandhana Opts Out of WBBL 2023: Indian Women’s Cricket team’s Vice Captain Smriti Mandhana decided to skip the upcoming Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) for the second consecutive time in order to manage her workload.
Smriti Mandhana Opts Out of WBBL 2023
Smriti Mandhana Opts Out of WBBL 2023: Smriti Mandhana decided not to enrol her name on the list of 122 players for the inaugural WBBL overseas draft. The first edition of the WBBL 2023 Overseas Draft is scheduled to take place on September 3.
As per the WBBL 2023 Schedule, the first match will be played between Sydney Sixers Women and Melbourne Stars Women on October 19 at North Sydney Oval, Sydney.
According to a report, Mandhana is likely to participate in domestic cricket, slated to be played from October 19 to January 26.
The domestic season will begin with the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy. It will be followed by the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Trophy, the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy, the T20 Challenger Trophy, and the Inter-Zonal One Day Trophy.
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Mandhana, who won the Women’s Hundred final with Southern Brave on Sunday, has played in three of the eight WBBL seasons so far and represented Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Thunder.
Notably, Smriti Mandhana became the first Indian to score a century in WBBL. Mandhana, while playing for Sydney Thunder in WBBL 2021, reached this milestone during the chase of 176 against Melbourne Renegades at Harrup Park in Mackay.
The women’s calendar saw the addition of the inaugural WPL earlier this year, in which Mandhana was the most expensive player for INR 3.4 crore at the auction, and also captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, who won just two of their eight games and finished second from bottom.
A total of 18 Indian players have been shortlisted for the WBBL 2023-24 draft, including India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and star batter Jemimah Rodrigues.
List of Indian players in WBBL 2023-24 draft
Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia, Harleen Deol, Hurley Gala, Richa Ghosh, Mannat Kashyap, Amanjot Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Shreyanka Patil, Sneh Rana, Meghana Sabbineni, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav.
WBBL 2023 Draft Players’ Salary Band
In the WBBL, Platinum players will earn AUD$110,000 to be paid by the clubs from the AUD$732,000 salary cap.
- Platinum – AUD 110,000
- Gold – AUD 90,000
- Silver – AUD 65,000
- Bronze – AUD 40,000
Where to Watch the WBBL 2023 Draft?
Smriti Mandhana Opts Out of WBBL 2023: WBBL 2023 Overseas Player Draft will be broadcast on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports on Sunday, September 3, with the WBBL Draft kicking off at 3:00 PM AEST and immediately followed by the BBL Draft at 4:30 PM AEST.
WBBL 2023 Draft Date
The inaugural WBBL 2023 overseas draft will be held on September 3 alongside the second installment of the BBL overseas draft.
WBBL 2023 Draft Selection Order
Smriti Mandhana Opts Out of WBBL 2023: On July 14, weighted lotteries were undertaken to determine the order of selections for the WBBL overseas draft. The selection order for the inaugural Weber WBBL Overseas Player Draft has been revealed with the Sydney Thunder receiving the first-ever pick.
After failing to qualify for the Weber WBBL|08 Finals, four teams were entered into the first draw: Perth Scorchers (one entry), Melbourne Stars (two entries), Melbourne Renegades (three entries) and Sydney Thunder (four entries). The Clubs who played in the Finals last year, including reigning champions Adelaide Strikers, were placed in the second draw.
In WBBL drafts, the first two rounds of the draft will run in order from one to eight. Round three will run in reverse order, so team eight will get two selections in a row (pick 16 and 17). Round four will run in normal order again. So team one will get two selections in a row (picks 24 and 25). Following the Lottery, the order of selections for the Weber WBBL|09 Overseas Player Draft is confirmed as follows:
- Pick 1:Â Sydney Thunder
- Pick 2:Â Melbourne Renegades
- Pick 3:Â Perth Scorchers
- Pick 4:Â Melbourne Stars
- Pick 5:Â Hobart Hurricanes
- Pick 6:Â Brisbane Heat
- Pick 7:Â Sydney Sixers
- Pick 8:Â Adelaide Strikers
