Veda Krishnamurthy has been signed by Hobart Hurricanes for the upcoming season of Women Big Bash League, to be played from December 9. She will be their overseas contingent along with England’s Lauren Winfield and West Indies’ Hayley Mathews. Veda will return after 15 January for the preparation of South Africa tour, which will commence in the first week of February.
Apart from her, Dipti Sharma is also on the radar of several franchise owners for the upcoming season. Meanwhile, Harmanpreet Kaur will participate in the second consecutive season, while it is not yet clear whether Brisbane Heat will renew Smriti Mandhana’s contract or not.
Krishnamurthy has made it clear that she will be available for only ten matches and will miss the second leg of the league while keeping national duties in mind.
She said after signing the contract “The offer came about a month ago. I was pleasantly surprised because I wasn’t expecting it because our South Africa tour dates weren’t announced then. We were expecting it [the tour] to be in January, so there was some confusion if I’d be able to take up the offer.”
“Initially, they wanted my availability for the full season. But now, they are okay with me missing the last stages to accommodate the South Africa tour in February. At the moment, I’ll be playing 10 games for Hobart Hurricanes,” added Veda.
“I spoke to Harman and Smriti about what to expect. It’s exciting to play in a brand new country, interact with new cultures. I think this is a direct result of ICC promoting the game well. With the World Cup being so well received, new avenues have opened up for cricketers from around the world,” Krishnamurthy said while concluding. “This deal is a direct recognition of India’s performance at the World Cup. To play in that environment with some of the world’s best will surely add a new dimension to my game.”
The 25-year-old is a regular member of Indian women’s team and played a key role in India’s World Cup 2017 campaign, which ended in the final with a bitter loss to host England.
