Trinbago Knight Riders sign Jemimah Rodrigues, Shikha Pandey, Meg Lanning and Jess Jonassen; retain captain Deandra Dottin for WCPL 2024
PRESS RELEASE (7 July 2024): Trinbago Knight Riders Women have announced their retained players, as well as new signings for the upcoming season of the 2024 Massy Women's Caribbean Premier League (WCPL). The winners of the inaugural edition have retained 5 Caribbean players and signed 4 new international stars to their 2024 squad. The retained players are captain Deandra Dottin, wicketkeeper Kycia Knight, speedster Shamila Connell, upcoming players Zaida James and Samara Ramnath.
The international signings include Australian legends Meg Lanning, Jess Jonassen, alongside Indian superstars Jemimah Rodrigues and Shikha Pandey. These four new additions to the squad have added a lot of depth, experience and firepower to the TKR Women's setup.
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. 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.
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."
Jemimah Rodrigues, fresh off back-to-back half-centuries against South Africa Women in the recently concluded Test Match and 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. Even 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 in July.
TKR Women’s squad for WCPL 2024:
Retained Caribbean Players: Deandra Dottin, Kycia Knight, Shamila Connell, Zaida James, Samara Ramnath; New Signings: Meg Lanning, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jess Jonassen, Shikha Pandey.