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The Hundred: India women players formalizing deals, Shafali Verma emerges as a replacement option
India Women players Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Dipti Sharma, and Jemimah Rodrigues are set to represent Manchester Originals, Southern Brave, London Spirit, and Northern Superchargers respectively in the inaugural edition of the Hundred. A fifth Indian player, the ICC's No. 1-ranked T20I batter Shafali Verma is also on the radar of at least one team as a potential replacement player in the event of any last-minute withdrawals.
ESPNcricinfo understands that the four players - Kaur, Mandhana, Sharma, and Rodrigues - are likely to complete contract formalities imminently, with the BCCI already having sent the ECB No-Objection Certificate (NOCs) for each of them. It is expected that the ECB will announce the signings soon. Verma, 17, is understood to be on the radar of at least one team and would be a front-runner to fill a spot in the event of the unavailability of any other overseas players.
Five South Africa players - Chloe Tryon (Spirit), Mignon du Preez and Lizelle Lee (Originals), Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp (Oval Invincible) - are contracted to play in the tournament, and direct flights between the two countries have been suspended since December 2020, though some players have traveled via other countries to fulfill contracts in men's county cricket.
