Southern Brave Women have signed India women’s cricket team stalwart Jemimah Rodrigues for The Hundred 2026, which is scheduled to be held from July 21 to August 16. Besides Rodrigues, Brave have included South Africa Women’s captain, Laura Wolvaardt, for the second time in the squad. Meanwhile, the team has also retained its core players for this season, including Lauren Bell and Maia Bouchier.
The 26-year-old batter is now the sixth Indian female player to play the tournament. The list includes some notable names from the India women’s team, including captain Harmanpreet Kaur, openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, all-rounder Deepti Sharma, and wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh. Before Rodrigues, Mandhana had been signed by the Manchester Super Giants for the 2026 edition.
Rodrigues had previously featured for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred from the 2021-2023 edition. In the 19 matches played for the team, Rodrigues scored 453 runs at a strike rate of 137.68. In the 2025 edition, Brave qualified for the finals match but lost to Northern Superchargers; however, they won a title in the 2023 season.
Meanwhile, Southern Brave will include South Africa women’s captain Wolvaardt, pacer Lauren Bell, and Maia Bouchier. Both Bell and Bouchier had a brilliant run for Southern Brave last season, who finished as table toppers with eight wins, 32 points, and a net run rate of 1.164 in a total of eight matches played. Bell finished the season as the leading wicket-taker with 19 wickets. Wolvaardt scored 207 runs at a strike rate of 131.01 in nine innings played, while Bouchier made 186 runs in nine innings.
In the five editions played for Brave, Bell took 60 wickets at an average of 14.91 in 41 matches played. Meanwhile, Bouchier scored 750 runs in 43 matches played at a strike rate of 125.83. Wolvaardt joined the team in the last edition only. In the nine matches played for Brave, the opening batter scored 207 runs at a strike rate of 131.01.
Rodrigues’ addition to the Southern Brave squad this season will be one to watch as the team tries to make a solid comeback after missing out on the title in 2025. With Wolvaardt, Bell, and Bouchier joining the team for this season, Brave are in for a good chance of lifting the 2026 trophy. The Indian batter, for the first time, is leading the Delhi Capitals Women’s team in the ongoing Women’s Premier League 2026.
