Shafali Verma in contention to play in The Hundred

Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma were the four Indians, who will be playing the Hundred, it was reported on Wednesday (May 5). With Verma’s addition, five players from India will be part of the newest competition of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), second-most in the list of overseas players.

Australia have eleven players while five South Africans are also part of the teams. However, direct flights between England and South Africa have been suspended and that could make things tricky.

While Kaur will be playing for Manchester Originals, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodrigues are set to represent Southern Brave, London Spirit and Northern Superchargers. With Danielle Wyatt also part of the Brave setup, she could be expected to partner the Indian southpaw at the top.

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The interest levels in the Hundred could see a spike with the presence of Verma, who had a strike rate of over 150 in the Women’s T20 World Cup last year. She has played 22 T20Is for India and is yet to get her ODI cap. Kaur, Mandhana, Rodrigues and Sharma, though, have prior experience of playing the Women’s Cricket Super League in England. It is understood that the players were approached to be the part of the inaugural edition of the competition, that was to begin in 2020, much before the Women's T20. That could be the reason behind Verma's signing being delayed.

The Indian players are expected to assemble towards the end of May for their tour to England, which starts with a Test match from June 16. It will be followed by three ODIs and three T20Is from June 27 to July 15.