The rising Indian youngster Shreyanka Patil is set to become the first Indian cricketer to feature in Caribbean Premier League. Guyana Amazon Warriors signed a contract with Shreyanka during the player draft for the upcoming season on Friday, June 30.
Shreyanka, the 20-year-old spin all-rounder, first came under the limelight for her impressive all-round performance for Royal Challengers Bangalore in Women's Premier League 2023. She was the leading wicket-taker for RCB with six wickets and also displayed her finishing skills by smashing 62 runs at a strike rate of 151.21.
She further made a name for herself by taking nine wickets in just two innings during India's title win at ACC Women's Emerging Teams Cup. She was named the player of the tournament and now bagged a contract to play in the Women's Caribbean Premier League 2023, without playing a single international match.
Unlike men's cricketers, Indian women's cricketers are allowed to play in overseas franchise leagues. Star players Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma,
and Harmanpreet Kaur featured in Australia's Big Bash League and England's The Hundred tournament last season.
During a player's draft, Stafanie Taylor-led Guyana Amazon Warriors signed quality reinforcement after finishing an inaugural edition in the last position without registering a single win. They signed veteran New Zealand batters Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine, the latter also plays with Shreyanka Patil at Royal Challengers Bangalore. The legendary South African pacer Shabnim Ismail also joined Shreyanka at Amazon Warriors to boost their bowling attack next season.
The tournament will kick off on August 31 and the final will be played on September 10 with three teams playing each other twice in league stages.
Guyana Amazon Warriors squad for WCPL 2023: Stafanie Taylor (c), Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Shabnim Ismail, Shreyanka Patil, Karishma Ramharack, Natasha McClean, Shermaine Campbelle, Shakiba Gajnabi, Shekera Selman, Sheneta Grimmonds, Kaysia Schultz, Cherry-Ann Fraser, Ashmini Munisar, Djenaba Joseph.