Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu will return to Melbourne Renegades as a replacement player for the remainder of the WBBL 2022 following the withdrawal of India captain Harmanpreet Kaur. The Renegades lost last year's player of the tournament due to a back injury following India's Asia Cup triumph.
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Image - Cricket Australia
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Renegades had signed English batter Eve Jones as a short-term replacement but have added Athapaththu as an experienced batting option. Sri Lanka's captain returns for her third season at Renegades having first played for the club in WBBL 03.
She was part of Perth Scorchers' title-winning squad last season. She has played 10 games and scored 182 runs at 30.33 before heading away for international duty which saw her miss out on the Scorchers' triumphant final.
Athapaththu is set to join the Renegades after their next match against Adelaide Strikers. Renegades general manager James Rosengarten said Athapaththu was an obvious choice after losing Harmanpreet.
Athapaththu was also part of the Asia Cup, helping her team reach the final against India on October 15. With a reputation for aggressive hitting and a wealth of experience at the international level, she presents a closer like-for-like replacement for Kaur.
"We needed to add another aggressive player to our batting line-up in Harmanpreet's absence and Chamari is a perfect fit. She brings a wealth of experience at the international level and is a player capable of taking the game away from the opposition quickly."
said Rosengarten
"We look forward to her joining us and playing her first game in Ballarat next weekend, which will be our first match in Victoria in more than 1000 days."