Two weeks out from the player draft of the 10th edition of the Women\u2019s Big Bash League (WBBL), Sydney Thunder has protected the services of Chamari Athapaththu in a three-year deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike previous seasons, where the WBBL overseas recruits were contracted on a one-season basis, the Sri Lankan all-rounder has signed under the WBBL\u2019s new multi-year contract provision that enables each of the eight clubs to sign one foreign player for up to three years outside of the season\u2019s player draft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Athapaththu has committed her obtainability for the entirety of the league for the next three years, including the upcoming edition which kicks off on 27 October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCommitting to Sydney Thunder for the next three seasons was an easy decision because I believe in the vision of this club, and I want to be part of its future success,\u201d said Athapaththu, who is presently plying her trade for the Oval Invincibles in The Hundred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much to love about my Sydney Thunder family. My teammates are not just colleagues; they are friends who push each other to be better every day, [which] is important to me. It\u2019s been an incredible journey so far, and I\u2019m so enthusiastic for what\u2019s ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The WBBL \u2018Player of the Tournament 2023-\u201924,\u2019 Athapaththu was parenthetically snubbed at the first-ever overseas draft last year before being signed on later by Thunder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once in as a replacement, the Sri Lankan Captain, who was representing her third different franchise after Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Renegades, took the rivalry by storm as she racked up 552 runs \u2013 second only behind Beth Mooney\u2019s tally of 557 \u2013 at 42.46 and a strike rate of 127.18 along with nine wickets at a 6.83 economy rate. She also won the Thunder\u2019s WBBL \u2018Player of the Season\u2019 award \u2013 the Alex Blackwell Medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inhabiting the No.6 and No.5 spot in ICC\u2019s T20I batters\u2019 and all-rounders\u2019 rankings, respectively, Athapaththu recently led Sri Lanka to their maiden Women\u2019s Asia Cup T20 win at home in Dambulla last month, against seven-time champions and shielding champions India. The 34-year-old led from the front, topping the charts with 304 runs at a staggering average of 101.33, which included a career-best 119 not out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Athapaththu\u2019s strike rate of 146.85 was second only to Richa Ghosh\u2019s 217.39 among batters who scored at 100 runs in the tournament, while her tally of sixes \u2013 15 \u2013 was nearly unmatched as the next best was Shafali Verma\u2019s three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the conclusion of the 2023 Women\u2019s T20 World Cup, Athapaththu is the leading scorer in the format with her 1,027 runs coming at an average of 41.08, as well as two hundreds and six fifties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unbelievably exciting to have Chamari return to the Thunder and be available for the entire WBBL 2024 tournament,\u201d Thunder General Manager Trent Copeland said. \u201cWe know other teams were interested in signing her, but we made every effort to confirm she came back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChamari is obviously an exceptional cricket player, but she is also an exceptional human being who is team first and fans first. We are looking forward to Chamari returning and bringing our fans so much joy, particularly our multicultural fans that got behind her in such numbers last season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sydney Thunder current squad<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Chamari Athapaththu (International), Samantha Bates, Hannah Darlington, Saskia Horley, Anika Learoyd, Phoebe Litchfield, Claire Moore, Taneale Peschel, Georgia Voll, and Tahlia Wilson<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two weeks out from the player draft of the 10th edition of the Women\u2019s Big Bash League (WBBL), Sydney Thunder has protected the services of Chamari Athapaththu in a three-year deal. Unlike previous seasons, where the WBBL overseas recruits were contracted on a one-season basis, the Sri Lankan all-rounder has signed under the WBBL\u2019s new…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,59],"tags":[285,73,134,873,872],"class_list":["post-7181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cricket","category-womens-cricket","tag-chamari-athapaththu","tag-slsports","tag-sports-news","tag-sydney-thunder","tag-womens-big-bash-league"],"yoast_head":"\n