Women's Big Bash League 7 schedule announced: When will Harmanpreet, Shafali, Smriti play?

Cricket Australia (CA), on Thursday, October 7 announced the full revised schedule for the seventh edition of Women's Big Bash League (WBBL 7) 2021. The tournament will commence in just a week i.e on 14th October which will see Sydney Sixers take on the last season’s runners-up Melbourne Stars in the opening clash at the Blundstone Arena.

WBBL 7 will have a revamped 59-match schedule with all games aired for the first time. This move reaffirms CA's commitment to making cricket the most popular sport among women and girls in the country. The event will be held in eight different locations across four different states: Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia. In addition, due to continuing border restrictions, no games will be held in New South Wales or Victoria this season.

The venues for playoffs and finals, which are set to take place on November 24, 25 and 27 are still to be finalized.

The schedule has been altered as a result of state border limitations, public health concerns, and its ramifications. The new rules allow the League and teams to continue to put the health and safety of spectators, the general public, players, match officials, and staff foremost. The venues for playoffs and finals, which are set to take place on November 24, 25 and 27 are still to be finalized.

Women's Big Bash League: Which Indian players will feature in season 7?

The WBBL 7 will feature some of the great Indian women players showcasing their skills in the world’s grandest women’s T20 league. A total of seven Indians Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav, and Richa Ghosh will ply their trade for some of the best teams in the league.

Mandhana, who had featured for Brisbane Heat and Hobart Hurricanes in the previous editions will now see herself representing the defending champions Sydney Thunder along with all-rounder Deepti Sharma, who will make his maiden appearance in the league. Thunder will begin their title defence on October 16 against Adelaide Strikers.

Whereas, Harmanpreet and Jemimah will don the colours of Melbourne Renegades, who will play their first game against Richa Ghosh’s Hobart Hurricanes on October 16. Harmanpreet was earlier a part of Sydney Thunder whereas Jemimah and Richa will be making their WBBL debut.

Lastly, attacking opener Shafali and spin sensation Radha will feature for Sydney Sixers, who will play the inaugural match of the WBBL 7 against Melbourne Stars on October 14.

Image: Twitter/@WBBL