WCPL 2024: Jemimah Rodrigues, Shikha Pandey join Trinbago Knight Riders

India internationals Jemimah Rodrigues and Shikha Pandey have joined the Trinbago Knight Riders for the 2024 Women’s Caribbean Premier League. They will join Australians Meg Lanning and Jess Jonassen as the overseas players for the Knight Riders this season.

The 2024 CPL will take place in Trinidad from 21 to 29 August, with all seven matches scheduled at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, Trinidad.

“This is the first time I'll be coming to the WCPL. I've played for India in the Caribbean quite a bit, but I'm really excited that I'll be representing the Knight Riders in WCPL,” Rodrigues was saying as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. 

“We all know the legacy that they have across the globe. Even the TKR Women's team, champions of 2022, are a very proud side. I believe this tournament is also going to serve as a very good preparation for us leading up to the Women's World T20 in October, with some of the best players in the world taking part in the competition,” she added.

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The Knight Riders have retained five of the players who represented them in the 2023 season with Deandra Dottin returning along with Shamila Connell, Kycia Knight, Zaida James and Samara Ramnath. There are six more spots in the squad left to fill, and these players will be selected at the WCPL draft, which will take place in July.

“We are very excited to be able to retain the core of our local Caribbean players and sign up four world-renowned overseas players for this year's Women's CPL,” Venky Mysore, CEO of Knight Riders Group, said in a statement.

“Great to have Deandra Dottin captaining the team once again. She has been a fantastic leader of the side since the inaugural year, having played a crucial role both as captain and player since our title victory in 2022,” he added.

Furthermore, Venky also expressed his delight to have the India internationals onboard for the upcoming season, and thanked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for allowing their participation in the Caribbean tournament.

“Jemimah Rodrigues and Shikha Pandey will add volumes to the quality of the tournament, and we are very thankful to the BCCI for facilitating their first-ever appearance in the WCPL. The addition of these two big Indian names, along with super stars Meg Lanning and Jess Jonassen should excite cricket enthusiasts around the world, as we look forward to welcoming them all in TKR's red and black this August,” he concluded.

Here's the updated squad for Trinbago Knight Riders Women till now:

Deandra Dottin, Meg Lanning, Jess Jonassen, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shikha Pandey, Kycia Knight, Shamila Connell, Zaida James, Samara Ramnath