INDIAN STARS JOIN HEAT | WBBL Recruits Locked In

Indian batting star Jemimah Rodrigues was taken in the first round, following a strong 12 months in all forms of the game, and she was followed by experienced Indian allrounder Shikha Pandey in the second round.

Both players were teammates of Heat captain Jess Jonassen in the Delhi Capitals at the Women’s Premier League earlier this year.

Rodrigues, a 23-year-old right-hander, has played two brief stints in the WBBL previously with the Melbourne Renegades and Melbourne Stars and joins the Heat as their platinum level pick.

The Heat had picks 7, 15, 18, 31 in today’s WBBL Draft with South African allrounder Nadine de Klerk recruited as a pre-draft signing for two years. She was taken at pick number 31 after the club passed at pick 18.

Rodrigues recently brought up the milestone of playing 100 T20Is for India, only the fourth Indian woman cricketer to do so.

She has scored more than 2000 T20 International runs and will be a key player for India in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup.

Playing in the Women’s Premier League earlier this year, Rodrigues scored 235 runs at a strike rate of 153.59. She produced a classy knock of 59 not out to get the Trinbago Knight Riders into the Final of the Women’s Caribbean Premier League last week.

The Heat added experienced Indian allrounder Shikha Pandey to their line-up with their second-round pick, bringing full circle her personal journey after she paid her own way to Brisbane two years to undergo a pre-season in Queensland Premier Cricket.

Pandey, 35, provides a key bowling option with the new ball as well as a hard-hitting middle order player.

Formerly a squadron leader in the India Air Force where she was involved in air traffic control at major air force bases, Pandey created a unique connection with Brisbane in 2022 when she reached out to Belinda Clark and Ash Noffke to inquire about playing Premier Cricket in Brisbane.                                                                                                            

Having missed a spot in the Indian ODI World Cup team, she was determined to rekindle her love for the game and paid her own way to Brisbane where a connection with former Sri Lankan women’s coach Harsha de Silva saw her end up playing for Wynnum-Manly in the KFC T20 Max tournament for the first two seasons.

It worked, earning her a spot in 2023 T20 World Cup squad for India, while she was named in the team of the tournament in the WPL earlier this year following her efforts for the Delhi Capitals.

Pandey also played alongside Rodrigues in the Trinbago Knight Riders in their WCPL campaign that saw them make the Finals last week.

WBBL and BBL tickets for the Heat are on sale now through Ticketek and at https://www.brisbaneheat.com.au/tickets

For the first time, the WBBL Heat will play a stand-alone match at the Gabba, taking on the Adelaide Strikers on Saturday 9 November, as well as three matches under lights at Allan Border Field.

BBL matches in Brisbane will feature the return of the New Year’s Bash, when the Heat host the Melbourne Stars, one of five bumper home games at the Gabba.

Fans are encouraged to buy early and save, with early bird prices available until November 14 for BBL tickets and October 10 for WBBL tickets.

WBBL|10 Brisbane Heat squad: Bonnie Berry, Nadine de Klerk (South Africa), Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Nicola Hancock, Grace Harris, Laura Harris, Ellie Johnston, Jess Jonassen, Charli Knott, Shikha Pandey (India), Grace Parsons, Georgia Redmayne, Jemimah Rodrigues (India), Mikayla Wrigley.