Jemimah Rodrigues to beef up Indian presence at KSL
India's Jemimah Rodrigues has been signed up by Yorkshire Diamonds for the fourth edition of the Kia Super League.
Rodrigues, the up-and-coming 18-year-old batting allrounder, is a fearless stroke-player and has been consistent both at home and away in her short career so far. Having made her international debut only in February 2018, in South Africa, she averages 30.40 and has a strike rate of 123.57 in her 25-T20I career. In her most recent outing on foreign soil, Rodrigues impressed against the moving ball in testing New Zealand conditions in an ODI series, notching up a career-best 81 not out in Napier to help set up India's 2-1 series win.
Super stoked to be signed by @YorksDiamonds this season of the Kia Super League! Looking forward to playing some good cricket with you guys! #ShineBright #KSL pic.twitter.com/WcrEqUD0K8
— Jemimah Rodrigues (@JemiRodrigues) June 12, 2019
Her ability against some of the world's most established bowlers was on show more recently at the Women's T20 Challenge in Jaipur, where she was named the Player of the Tournament after scoring 123 runs in three games at an average of 61.50.
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Cricday understands that Rodrigues will leave for the UK towards the end of July and will be available for the whole tournament.
Although Loughborough Lightning, too, had expressed an interest in signing Rodrigues up, Diamonds got in touch with the player's management team in early May and inked the deal.
"More than anything, it's the experience of playing in an overseas league that will count for a teenager like Jemimah," her mother Lavita Rodrigues said. "Her progress since her India debut last year has been steady, with god's grace, and we want this experience to help her be an even better player."
BREAKING: The Diamonds have announced their squad for the fourth and final edition of the KSL, which will be replaced by the Hundred from 2020. This summer's competition kicks off in early August.#ShineBright pic.twitter.com/zWqzrIjkQ9
— Yorkshire Diamonds (@YorksDiamonds) June 11, 2019
India opener Smriti Mandhana had set the tournament alight last year with a chart-topping 421 runs in her debut season, playing for Western Storm while Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian T20I captain, who debuted along with Mandhana last year, had an up-and-down run with Lancashire Thunder. Official news on their future in the league is awaited.
The upcoming edition of the six-team KSL begins on August 6. Defending champions Surrey Stars will take on Diamonds, while Storm, finalists last season, and Thunder will host Loughborough Lightning and Southern Vipers respectively.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, will be represented by allrounder Jahanara Alam and top-order batsman Fargana Hoque in the Women's Global Development Squad (WGDS), an ICC-ECB initiative now in its second year. Alam, who stood out with her incisive swing bowling and fielding at the Women's T20 Challenge, was also part of the inaugural WGDS that lost to Loughborough Lighting in last year's double-header.
Additional reporting by Mohammad Isam