Melbourne Renegades replace Harmanpreet Kaur with Chamari Athapaththu

Kaur suffered a back injury during India's triumph in the Asia Cup, with Athapaththu called upon to fill her void

Melbourne Renegades captain Chamari Athapaththu has re-joined Melbourne Renegades for a third time as a replacement for Harmanpreet Kaur.

India's captain has withdrawn from the Women's Big Bash with a back problem, so Renegades – who are significantly depleted – have moved to fill her void with the Sri Lanka skipper.

Kaur suffered her injury during India's triumph in the Asia Cup, with Australia internationals Georgia Wareham and Tayla Vlaeminck also ruled out of this year's tournament.

Eve Jones, the English batter who played for the team in 2021, was initially signed on a short-term basis to fill in for Kaur, but Athapaththu brings significant firepower; she holds the record for the highest score against Australia in T20Is – 113 for Sri Lanka in 2019.

"We needed to add another aggressive player to our batting line-up in Harmanpreet's absence and Chamari is a perfect fit," said James Rosengarten, Melbourne Renegades' general manager.

^{Athapaththu represented Perth Scorchers last year (Mark Brake/Getty Images)}

"She brings a wealth of experience at international level and is a player capable of taking the game away from the opposition quickly.

"We look forward to her joining us and playing her first game in Ballarat next weekend, which will be our first match in Victoria in more than 1,000 days."

Athapaththu was part of Perth Scorchers' squad last season that won the title; she made 182 runs, averaging 30.3.

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