Sri Lanka captain Chamari Atapattu will play for Loughborough Lightning at the 2019 Kia Super League (KSL). She replaces the injured New Zealand allrounder Sophie Devine, who was earlier retained by the franchise.
Atapattu joins West Indies’ Hayley Matthews and South Africa’s Mignon du Preez as part of the overseas contingent.
Atapattu, the 29-year-old batting allrounder, will be the fourth Asian representative at the KSL this season, alongside the Indian trio of Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma (both Western Storm) and Jemimah Rodrigues (Yorkshire Diamonds).
Atapattu had been part of the Diamonds for the last two seasons, scoring 135 runs in five innings and 85 runs in seven innings in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Her initiation into the league came on the back off her sensational unbeaten 178 against Australia – the third-highest individual score in women’s ODIs – at the 2017 World Cup, in Bristol.
“I’m really excited to have Chamari in our squad this summer,” head coach Rob Taylor was quoted as saying by the franchise. “She is an explosive player with plenty of talent and will compliment the other batters we have in our top order. She has played in the KSL before and has performed well against us in the past, so it is great to have her on our side.”
The upcoming edition of the six-team tournament begins on August 6, with all six teams in action. Lightning will kick-start their campaign is last edition’s semi-finalist’s Western Storm, at the Haslegrave Cricket Ground.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo