Harmanpreet only Indian player to get picked in WBBL overseas draft
Melbourne (PTI): Women's team captain Harmanpreet Kaur was the only Indian player to get picked in the WBBL overseas draft, being retained by Melbourne Renegades here on Sunday.
A total of 18 Indian players, including Yastika Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma, among other figured in the inaugural Women's Big Bash League overseas draft but just one -- Harmanpreet -- got picked.
Placed in the platinum category, Harmanpreet was retained by the Renegades along with Hayley Matthews of the West Indies.
Harmanpreet performed remarkably for the Renegades during the 2021-22 season, scoring 406 runs in 12 innings at an average of 58.00 and a strike rate of 130.96, including three half-centuries and a top score of 81 not out.
She was also effective with the ball, taking 15 wickets at an economy of 7.45, with best figures of 3 for 22.
Harmanpreet had made her WBBL debut with Sydney Thunder in 2016-17.
Speaking on Harmanpreet's retention, Renegades head coach Simon Helmot stated, "I'm so pleased we got both of them (Harmanpreet and Hayley) and I'm looking forward to them working with us again this year.
"It was a tough decision -- do we go Harmanpreet at pick three, or do we go Hayley? Fortunately, it worked out for us that Harmanpreet was still available in the second round, so we could still get her as a Platinum pick."
Harmanpreet's long list of domestic franchise T20 teams include Lancashire Thunder, Supernovas, Manchester Originals and Trent Rockets (The Hundred) and Mumbai Indians (Women's Premier League).
The WBBL overseas draft also included Indian players such as Harleen Deol, Hurley Gala, Richa Ghosh, Mannat Kashyap, Amanjot Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Shreyanka Patil, Sneh Rana, Meghana Sabbineni, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar and Radha Yadav.
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Youth Congress protests suspension of Kuldeep Sengar's life term in Unnao rape case; slams BJP
Mumbai (PTI): Mumbai Youth Congress on Sunday staged a protest against the relief granted to Unnao rape case convict and expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar.
On December 23, the Delhi High Court suspended the jail term of Sengar, who is serving life imprisonment in the Unnao rape case, saying he has already served seven years and five months in prison. His sentence has been suspended till the pendency of his appeal challenging his conviction and sentence in the rape case.
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Protesters alleged the decision exposed the hypocrisy of the BJP's 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' slogan.
Led by Mumbai Youth Congress president Zeenat Shabreen, party workers travelled on a local train from Santacruz to Churchgate, interacting directly with commuters to raise awareness about the case and the alleged protection being extended to the convicted leader.
The protesters criticised the BJP-led government for what they described as shielding those convicted of serious crimes against women and said such actions undermined women's safety and justice.
"The Congress would continue its struggle against any decision that compromised the safety and dignity of women. Protests and public outreach would be intensified to ensure accountability and justice in cases of crimes against women," Shabreen said.
The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Monday a plea by the CBI challenging the Delhi High Court order suspending the life sentence of expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case.
According to the cause list, a three-judge vacation bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices JK Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih is likely to hear the matter.
