Lagatar24 Desk
Sydney, Nov 24: Melbourne Renegades star Harmanpreet Kaur became the first Indian player to be named the Women Big Bash League (WBBL) Player of the Tournament.
Harmanpreet Kaur enjoyed a dominant season in red, ending the regular season as her side’s leading batter with 399 runs at an average of 66.50 and strike rate of 135.25, including three match winning half-centuries and bowler with 15 wickets. Kaur was voted as the competition’s top player by the standing umpires at each match, polling 31 votes to finish three clear of Perth Scorchers pair Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine on 28 votes each.
Meanwhile, Phoebe Litchfield has been named the Young Gun of Weber WBBL|07. Grace Harris with 25 votes and Georgia Redmayne with 24 votes, both of the Brisbane Heat, and Hurricanes batter Mignon du Preez with 24 votes round out the top six. Kaur joins New Zealand pair Devine (twice) and Amy Satterthwaite as international players to be awarded the competition’s top individual honour, with Mooney, Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry also previous recipients.
Announcing the @WBBL Player of the Tournament!
📝https://t.co/qztczxl4bF#GETONRED pic.twitter.com/OZ2rMn4589
— Renegades WBBL (@RenegadesWBBL) November 24, 2021
I’m extremely delighted, it’s something very big that I have achieved. I’m very thankful to my team and all the support staff; they have been great during this time and have supported me a lot. It’s been totally a team effort — I was just doing the job the team required from me,” said Harmanpreet Kaur in a release.
“We have a team that has gelled together. We support each other and that’s what we have been doing. I haven’t put any extra pressure on myself, I’ve just enjoyed being here and supporting my teammates,” she added.
On the other hand, Sydney Thunder’s Phoebe Litchfield was named Weber WBBL|07’s ‘Young Gun’. The Young Gun award is given to the best player under 21 years of age, as selected by Cricket Australia’s National Selection Panel.
“It means a lot to be recognized with this award. It’s a surprise, to be honest. I could think of a number of other young players who would be deserving of this award, which is really exciting for the future,” said Phoebe Litchfield.
“Batting at No. 3 was a challenge but also a great opportunity. I was very privileged that Trevor Griffin trusted me with that spot and I hope I made the most of it,” she added.
