Richa Ghosh becomes 7th Indian to secure WBBL deal

Richa Ghosh became the seventh Indian to secure a Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). The 18-year-old has signed for the Hobart Hurricanes for the seventh season of the WBBL.

Richa Ghosh, who turned 18 this week, is familiar with Australian conditions and is now set to extend her stay in the country. She made her T20I and ODI debut in Australia. During the tri-series before the 2020 T20 World Cup, Ghosh, then 16, made her T20I debut. Last month, she played her first ODI for India.

The wicketkeeper-batter joins her teammates Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues (Melbourne Renegades), Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav (Sydney Sixers), Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma (Sydney Thunder) for the WBBL.

Richa Ghosh said:

“I’m very excited to be playing in the WBBL this year. I’m very thankful to the Hurricanes for this opportunity, and I’m looking forward to coming to Tasmania and meeting up with my new teammates.”

Currently part of India’s tour of Australia, she will join the Hurricanes after the end of the T20I series in the second week of October.

Richa Ghosh replaced South African batter Lizelle Lee in the Hurricanes squad after she withdrew from the tournament, taking an indefinite break from cricket due to the bio-bubble and quarantine toll.

Hobart Hurricanes squad for WBBL: Nicola Carey, Angelina Genford, Maisy Gibson, Ruth Johnston, Sasha Moloney, Chloe Rafferty, Amy Smith, Naomi Stalenberg, Molly Strano, Rachel Trenaman (injured), Belinda Vakarewa, Tayla Vlaeminck, Mignon du Preez (SA), Richa Ghosh (IND), Rachel Priest (NZ)

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Promising start to Richa Ghosh’s international career

Into her second year in international cricket, Richa Ghosh has played nine T20Is, scoring 126 runs at an average of 21, striking at over 112. She made an impressive start to her ODI career, with scores of 32 not out and 44 in the first two matches.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Richa Ghosh’s father, Manabendra, revealed that the teenaged cricketer is a fan of Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni. Her father said:

“She admires Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni the most. Once during a match in Jharkhand, she wanted to meet Dhoni, but she could not as he was not in the town. She loves the way Dhoni conducted himself on the field as a cricketer. WBBL will provide her with a platform to showcase her abilities ahead of the ODI World Cup (later this year).”

Richa Ghosh is expected to make her WBBL debut against the Melbourne Renegades on October 16 at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval.