Chamari Atapattu replaces Sophie Devine in Lightning for KSL

Sri Lanka's Chamari Atapattu replaced Sophie Devine of New Zealand in the Loughborough Lightning squad for the upcoming Kia Super League (KSL).

Sri Lanka's Chamari Atapattu replaced Sophie Devine of New Zealand in the Loughborough Lightning squad for the upcoming Kia Super League (KSL). Devine, who represented Lightning last year, had to withdraw from the squad due to ongoing injury concerns.

"It is gutting not to have Sophie in our squad this year as she made such a big impact last season and we were looking forward to seeing her prowess again with bat and ball," Head Coach Rob Taylor said in a statement. All-rounder Atapattu has played in KSL before as she had represented Yorkshire diamonds. The Sri Lankan featured in WBBL and recently in Women's T20 Challenge at Jaipur.

Atapattu came into limelight when she scored a record-breaking 178 not out against Australia during the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2017. "I'm really excited to have Chamari in our squad this summer. She is an explosive player with plenty of talent and will complement the other batters we have in our top order," Taylor said.

"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 head coach added. The fourth edition of the KSL is scheduled to commence on August 6 and will see six teams - Lancashire Thunder, Loughborough Lightning, Western Storm, Surrey Stars, Yorkshire Diamonds, Southern Vipers - playing each other twice in a league format.

The top three teams qualify for the finals day on September 1, with the second and third-placed sides competing for the chance to face the first-placed league winners in the final. Southern Vipers, Western Storm and Surrey Stars have won the tournament once each in 2016, 2017, 2018, respectively. (ANI)

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