London Spirit announced the signing of Indian wicketkeeper batter Richa Ghosh for The Hundred 2023 edition on Thursday, July 13. The youngster is set to replace Australia's Georgia Redmayne in London Spirit's team for the upcoming edition and will become the only third Indian cricketer after Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur to feature in England's unique 100-ball tournament.
The 19-year-old batter from West Bengal was India's best player during ICC T20 World Cup 2023 but failed to impress during the Women's Premier League 2023. She scored only 138 runs in eight matches at an average of 23.00 and a strike rate of 135.29 with the highest score of 37 for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Despite her inconsistent form, fans were surprised to see her name missing from India's T20I team for the ongoing Bangladesh tour. Yastika Bhatia, 22, earned the national team call-up ahead of Ghosh after impressive performances with eventual WPL 2023 champions Mumbai Indians. Uncapped Assamae batter Uma Chetry was picked as a backup wicketkeeper to Yastika for the Bangladesh tour, leaving Richa behind with no explanation from the selectors.
But now the young RCB wicketkeeper has a chance to showcase her worth in one of the most competitive franchise tournaments in women's cricket. London Spirit finished the last edition in the seventh position with just two wins under the leadership of English captain Heather Knight.
They retained Amelia Kerr, Charlie Dean, and Dani Gibson and released the likes of Beth Mooney, Megan Schutt, and Freya Davies but signed Grace Harris, Sarah Glenn, Sophie Munro, and Sophie Luff during Draft picks in March.
London Spirit Squad for The Hundred 2023: Heather Knight (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Amelia Kerr, Charlie Dean, Danielle Gibson, Grace Harris, Sarah Glenn, Sophie Munro, Sophie Luff, Grace Scrivens, Tara Norris, Niamh Holland, Lauren Filer, Chloe Hill, Alice Monaghan
