'Knight Riders from India': Jemimah Rodrigues, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey Ready For WCPL - WATCH

Indian players Jemimah Rodrigues and Shikha Pandey look set to represent Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League. A new season of the franchise competition will get underway on August 21. Jemimah and Shikha have reached Trinidad and Tobago to join their team along with former India cricketer Jhulan Goswami, who don the mentor’s hat for this season.

Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) announced the arrival of Jhulan Goswami, Jemimah Rodrigues and Sikha Pandey via a social media post. The franchise shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption, “The Knight Riders from India have arrived!”

The Indian trio appeared quite excited upon reaching the Caribbean. The clip opens with Jemimah Rodrigues introducing themselves, saying, “We are TKR.” In the next frame, Jhulan Goswami was captured imitating the iconic pose of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who is also the co-owner of the Knight Riders franchise.

The pacer was joined by Jemimah, recognised as a die-hard fan of SRK. Before signing off, the Indian stars said, “We are here. Let’s go TKR.” The video ended with some glimpses of the Queen’s Park Oval– the home ground of the Trinbago Knight Riders.

Led by Deandra Dottin, the TKR side will kick off their campaign with a high-voltage clash against reigning champions Barbados Royal Women on August 22. Trinbago Knight Riders have built a strong squad for the third season of the Women’s Caribbean Premier League. Jemimah Rodrigues is a key component of the team, which also features Australian captain Meg Lanning and all-rounder Jess Jonassen.

The Indian batter has already played 100 T20Is for her country. She has aggregated 2074 runs in the shortest format including eleven half-centuries. Jemimah was last seen in action in the last Asia Cup final where India suffered an 8-wicket loss to Sri Lanka.

Shikha Pandey, on the other hand, has featured in 62 T20Is since making her international debut in 2014. The fast-bowling all-rounder has scored 208 runs while picking 43 wickets.

Meanwhile, Jhulan Goswami announced her retirement from all forms of cricket in 2022. She is the highest wicket-taker for India Women across formats with 355 scalps. The 41-year-old has previously worked as a bowling coach-cum-mentor of Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League.