This year, Deepti Sharma will rejoin the Hundred, having signed for London Spirit to take Grace Harris’s place after her injury. In 2021, Deepti participated in the competition’s first season as a player for Spirit. The following summer, he did not make an appearance for Birmingham Phoenix.
The Hundred is set to begin on July 23. Spirit is scheduled to play their first game of the competition on the road against Southern Brave the following day. Deepti, however, will not be participating as she is attending the Asia Cup in Dambulla. Erin Burns, who is currently in the nation playing for the Northern Diamonds, will take her spot for the first two games.
Along with Richa Ghosh (Birmingham Phoenix) and Smriti Mandhana (Southern Brave), Deepti Sharma is one of three Indian players scheduled to participate in the Hundred this season. Both players, like Deepti, are a member of India’s Asia Cup roster and will be absent during the opening week of play.
The latest group of replacement players was confirmed by the ECB on Thursday afternoon. Sophie Molineux of the Manchester Originals and Harris both withdrew from the Hundred. Her decision was not explained, despite Australia’s hectic upcoming itinerary, which includes a brief series against New Zealand before the T20 World Cup in September.
Kim Garth has taken Molineux’s spot at the Originals, and Bethan Ellis will be joining her after Mahika Gaur withdrew with a side strain. With a hamstring injury, Tash Farrant is out for Oval Invincibles but has not yet been replaced; at Welsh Fire, Beth Langston has taken Claire Nicholas’ position.
As disclosed on Wednesday night, following their third Test match at Edgbaston against the West Indies, England’s batters will be free to participate in the men’s Hundred. Meanwhile, their bowlers and all-rounders, including Ben Stokes, are probably only going to play in the second half of the group stages because of workload management.
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Additional replacements include Louis Kimber of Leicestershire, who joins Phoenix to replace the injured Will Smeed, and Mohammad Amir, who signed with the defending champion Invincibles to provide short-term cover until Spencer Johnson wraps up his Major League Cricket obligations.
Hundred replacement deals:
Birmingham Phoenix: Louis Kimber and Tim Southee replace Will Smeed and Naseem Shah.
London Spirit: James Neesham and Matthew Taylor replace Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope while they are with England; Deepti Sharma replaces Grace Harris, with Erin Burns replacing Deepti until the end of the Asia Cup.
Manchester Originals: Kim Garth and Bethan Ellis replace Sophie Molineux and Mahika Gaur.
Northern Superchargers: Mitchell Santner replaces Daniel Sams.
Oval Invincibles: Harrison Ward and Mohammad Amir replace Gus Atkinson (while he is with England) and Spencer Johnson (while he is at MLC). Tash Farrant has withdrawn, replacement TBC
Trent Rockets: Riley Meredith replaces Joe Root while he is with England. Beth Langston: Beth Langston replaces Claire Nicholas.