Rodrigues and Jonassen are already team-mates at Delhi Capitals in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and Trinbago Knight Riders (WCPL), while Deepti played with Stars’ captain Meg Lanning for London Spirit in the title-winning women’s Hundred recently.
“We think she is a superstar allrounder,” Strikers captain Tahlia McGrath, who was at the draft table, said of Prendergast. “She hasn’t played a lot of overseas leagues but has a bright future. We played against her in Ireland last year and has a lot of talent. [I] can’t wait to see what she has for the franchise in blue.”
The presence of six Indians is the most for an edition of the WBBL.
How the WBBL draft played out
Hobart Hurricanes: Danni Wyatt, Chloe Tryon, Lizelle Lee (retained)
Sydney Sixers: Sophie Ecclestone (retained), Amelia Kerr (pre-signed), Hollie Armitage
Melbourne Renegades: Deandra Dottin, Hayley Matthews (pre-signed), Alice Capsey
Melbourne Stars: Deepti Sharma, Marizanne Kapp (pre-signed), Yastika Bhatia
Sydney Thunder: Heather Knight (retained), Shabnim Ismail, Chamari Athapaththu (pre-signed), Georgia Adams
Adelaide Strikers: Laura Wolvaardt (retained), Smriti Mandhana (pre-signed), Orla Prendergast
Brisbane Heat: Jemimah Rodrigues, Shikha Pandey, Nadine de Klerk
Perth Scorchers: Sophie Devine (pre-signed), Amy Jones, D Hemalatha