Due to a back issue, India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur withdrew from the current Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) for the Melbourne Renegades on Wednesday.
Harmanpreet, 33, missed the Renegades' first two games against the Adelaide Strikers and Brisbane Heat because she was in Sylhet, Bangladesh, helping India win the Women's Asia Cup for the eighth time.
The Renegades will now recruit England batter Eve Jones as an international replacement player after first replacing Harmanpreet.
"Unfortunately, Harmanpreet has been ruled out due to injury. She was terrific for us last season, and we were excited to have her back in our squad this year. Eve will remain with our team for at least the upcoming few games as we determine the best tactic for our team going forward in the competition "James Rosengarten, general manager of the Melbourne Renegades, said.
Harmanpreet was a key player for the Renegades during the 2021 WBBL season, collecting 406 runs at an impressive average of 58 and strike rate of 130.96 in 12 innings, including three fifty-scores, to win "Player of the Tournament" honours.
She finished in the top-10 of the season's best run scorers and wicket-takers with her off-spin, picking up 15 wickets at an average of 20.86 and an economy rate of 7.45. After Sophie Devine, the captain of New Zealand, who won the award twice, and former all-rounder Amy Satterthwaite, Harmanpreet had become the third international player to win the WBBL's Player of the Tournament award.
Jemimah Rodrigues, an Indian middle-order hitter who led the Women's Asia Cup runs charts, has since joined the Melbourne Stars, giving the team a big boost. Pooja Vastrakar, a quick bowling all-around player on her team, is also headed to the WBBL to join Brisbane Heat.