Three England players set to be part of Women’s T20 Challenge in UAE

Following the confirmation that two players each from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be a part of the third edition of the Women’s T20 Challenge, latest reports suggest that three English players are set to feature in the tournament that is scheduled to begin in Sharjah on November 4.



Cricket West Indies (CWI) have also confirmed to Women's CricZone that they have received an invitation from the BCCI for a couple of their players, the names of which are yet to be finalised. According to sources, each squad will consist of a total of 14 players including three overseas players. The playing XI would include all three overseas players with the rest Indians.



The names of 33 Indian players are expected to announce soon once the newly-elected women’s selection committee meets in the next few days. All three teams – Trailblazers, Velocity and Supernovas – will play against each other once with the top two teams in the points table making it to the final.



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However, it is still not clear whether the players will be reshuffled to form a completely new-looked squad. The whole contingent will be arriving in Dubai on October 21 following which they will have to be in mandatory quarantine till October 28.



Natalie Sciver, who was a part of Harmanpreet Kaur-led Supernovas, will not be seen this year’s T20 Challenge as she along with her five England teammates – Heather Knight, Katherine Brunt, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont – are set to fly to Australia on October 3 for the sixth edition of Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).



Danielle Wyatt and Sophie Ecclestone, who represented Velocity and Trailblazers last year, are expected to feature in the tournament in the UAE. The English players will start their individual training at their local home ground before flying to Dubai on October 21.



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Meanwhile, a top CWI official told Women’s CricZone, they are awaiting a mail from the BCCI confirming the number of players they are inviting. “We've confirmed to BCCI which players are already contracted to the WBBL and are awaiting to hear from BCCI how many West Indies players they will be inviting,” the official said on Thursday (October 1), on condition of anonymity.



Hayley Matthews, who played in the T20 Challenge for Velocity last year, is the only West Indies player to have signed for WBBL06 till now. With the kind of form Deandra Dottin showed in the recently-concluded T20I series against England, the fans would love to see her all guns blazing in the Indian tournament.