Women's Caribbean Premier League 2024: Trinbago Knight Riders Sign Jemimah Rodrigues, Shikha Pandey

Star Indian players Jemimah Rodrigues and Shikha Pandey were on Sunday roped in as international signings by the Trinbago Knight Riders for the upcoming season of the Women's Caribbean Premier League (WCPL).  (More Cricket News)

Australians Meg Lanning and Jess Jonassen were their two other international signings.

"These four new additions to the squad have added a lot of depth, experience and firepower to the TKR Women's setup," the franchise said in a release while announcing their retained players as well as new signings ahead of the 2024 season.

TKR Women, the winners of the inaugural edition, have retained five Caribbean players -- captain Deandra Dottin, wicketkeeper Kycia Knight, speedster Shamila Connell, upcoming players Zaida James and Samara Ramnath.

This year the WCPL will be played from August 21-29.

"Great to have Deandra Dottin captaining the team once again. She has been a fantastic leader of the side since the inaugural year, having played a crucial role both as captain and player since our title victory in 2022.

He said the addition of Rodrigues and Pandey will add depth to the team's line-up.

Venky Mysore, CEO of Knight Riders Group, said: "We are very excited to be able to retain the core of our local Caribbean players and sign up four world-renowned overseas players for this year's Women's CPL.

"Jemimah Rodrigues and Shikha Pandey will add volumes to the quality of the tournament, and we are very thankful to the BCCI for facilitating their first-ever appearance in the WCPL.

"The addition of these two big Indian names, along with super stars Meg Lanning and Jess Jonassen should excite cricket enthusiasts around the world, as we look forward to welcoming them all in TKR's red and black this August," said Mysore.

Jemimah, fresh from her back-to-back half-centuries against South Africa Women in the recently concluded one-off Test and the first T20I in Chennai, said: "This is the first time I'll be coming to the WCPL. I've played for India in the Caribbean quite a bit, but I'm really excited that I'll be representing the Knight Riders in WCPL. We all know the legacy that they have across the globe.

"The TKR Women's team, champions of 2022, are a very proud side. I believe this tournament is also going to serve as a very good preparation for us leading up to the Women's World T20 in October, with some of the best players in the world taking part in the competition."

The remaining six slots in the 15-member squad will be filled in the WCPL Draft later this month.