Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma headlined the platinum-round picks in the second Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) overseas draft. Rodrigues reunited with Jess Jonassen after being Brisbane Heat's first pick, while Deepti was Melbourne Stars' first pick.
Rodrigues and Jonassen are already team-mates at Delhi Capitals in the Women's Premier League (WPL) and Trinbago Knight Riders in the Women's Caribbean Premier League (WCPL), while Deepti played with Stars' captain Meg Lanning for London Spirit in the title-winning women's Hundred recently.
Hobart Hurricanes, who had pick number one, drafted in Danni Wyatt after their previous choices in Sophie Ecclestone, Heather Knight and Laura Wolvaardt slipped by way of retention picks for Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunder and Adelaide Strikers, respectively.
Melbourne Renegades, who had pick three, went for Deandra Dottin in the platinum category. Dottin only recently reversed her international retirement and was picked in West Indies' squad for the T20 World Cup 2024. Hayley Matthews, who was pre-signed by Renegades, was also allocated the platinum category despite being their second-round pick. India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who has played for them in the past, was not drafted.
Heat drafted in Shikha Pandey, and Nadine de Klerk, their pre-draft signing, was allocated the bronze category. It will be Pandey's maiden WBBL season, although she has played club cricket in Queensland alongside a few of the Heat players. She has been reunited with her Capitals and TKR team-mates, Rodrigues and Jonassen.
Stars also selected wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia as their third pick, while Alice Capsey was drafted in by Renegades.
D Hemalatha's familiarity with Beth Mooney at Gujarat Giants in the WPL also helped in her getting drafted with Perth Scorchers, who allocated the platinum category to their pre-signed captain Sophie Devine. Amy Jones, who was part of their squad last year, was selected in the gold category.
Strikers' third pick, in the last round, was Ireland allrounder Orla Prendergast. She bats in the middle order and bowls seam, recently also captaining Ireland in the ODIs against Sri Lanka. While Strikers passed their pick in the second round, the third and fourth rounds saw five teams pass turns.
"We think she is a superstar allrounder," Strikers captain Tahlia McGrath, who was at the draft table, said of Prendergast. "She hasn't played a lot of overseas leagues, but has a bright future. We played against her in Ireland last year, and [she] has a lot of talent. [I] can't wait to see what she has for the franchise in blue."
With Amelia Kerr pre-signed by Sixers as a platinum-category pick, they could have a potent spin-bowling combination with Ecclestone. Northern Superchargers top-order bat Hollie Armitage rounded up the draft for the side coached by Charlotte Edwards.
Six Indians will feature in this WBBL, the most in one edition since 2021.
How the WBBL draft played out
Hobart Hurricanes: Danni Wyatt (platinum), Chloe Tryon (gold), Lizelle Lee (retained, gold)
Sydney Sixers: Sophie Ecclestone (retained, platinum), Amelia Kerr (pre-signed, platinum), Hollie Armitage (bronze)
Melbourne Renegades: Deandra Dottin (platinum), Hayley Matthews (pre-signed, platinum), Alice Capsey (gold)
Melbourne Stars: Deepti Sharma (platinum), Marizanne Kapp (pre-signed, platinum), Yastika Bhatia (silver)
Sydney Thunder: Heather Knight (retained, platinum), Shabnim Ismail (platinum), Chamari Athapaththu (pre-signed, gold), Georgia Adams (bronze)
Adelaide Strikers: Laura Wolvaardt (retained, platinum), Smriti Mandhana (pre-signed, silver), Orla Prendergast (bronze)
Brisbane Heat: Jemimah Rodrigues (platinum), Shikha Pandey (gold), Nadine de Klerk (bronze)
Perth Scorchers: Sophie Devine (pre-signed, platinum), Amy Jones (gold), D Hemalatha (silver)