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Sydney Thunder have scored a massive coup just two weeks out from the Weber WBBL|10 Draft, with last year’s WBBL Player of the Tournament Chamari Athapaththu committing to the Western Sydney club for the next three seasons.
Athapaththu signed with Thunder last season as an undrafted free agent, filling the fourth overseas player slot on Thunder’s list before proving herself to be far more than a substitute when the club’s drafted players were unavailable.
The Sri Lankan captain finished the regular season as the second-highest run-scorer with 511 runs at 42.58, striking at 129.69 and including five half-centuries. She also claimed nine wickets, including 3-20 against the Sixers, and maintained an economy rate of 6.79.
Those contributions led to four Player of the Match awards, the league’s Player of the Tournament, a spot on the Team of the Tournament and the Alex Blackwell Medal, awarded to Thunder’s player of the year. Off the field, Athapaththu became a cult figure amongst teammates and fans, with a special bay dedicated to her loyal army of supporters at the Sydney Smash at the SCG.
(With inputs from press release)
