WBBL 2023: Athapaththu wins POTT following a draft snub, displaying strong character

With a task in hand, Chamari Athapaththu arrived in Australia and has now secured the title of Weber WBBL 09 Player of the Tournament. In a close contest, the Sydney Thunder recruit defeated Adelaide Strikers’ Katie Mack to win by only one vote. Umpires, who voted each match in a format of 3-2-1, completed her victory.

Athapaththu, with a strike rate of 129.69, finished second in the runs chart after hitting an amazing 511 runs at 42.58. She was a player that was first passed over in the overseas player draft, but she silenced skeptics with an incredible display that included snagging nine wickets at an economy rate of 6.79. It stands in sharp contrast to earlier disappointments in the WPL and The Hundred competitions.

She was originally a last-minute inclusion to WBBL 09, but she took advantage of the situation when Marizanne Kapp became unwell to lock down her spot in the Thunder lineup. Because of the Sri Lankan all-rounder’s outstanding performance, Lauren Bell, who was picked later, was forced to sit out. After an amazing season in which she demonstrated her skill with both the bat and the ball, Charli Knott, a versatile player for the Brisbane Heat, has been named the WBBL 09 Young Gun.

POTT title coincides with Athapaththu’s dismal prior WBBL stints.

With nine hundreds under her belt in international cricket, the 33-year-old had not quite equalled that achievement in the WBBL. Before this season, she had only two half-centuries in 34 innings at a strike rate of 95, averaging a pitiful 18. Nonetheless, she gave her all in the WBBL 09, riding high on confidence following a successful year in international cricket.

The scenario was created by her incredible exploits, particularly the two centuries without losing that led Sri Lanka to their first-ever ODI series triumph against New Zealand in July. She then demonstrated her full potential in the WBBL after dominating the run charts in a historic T20I series victory against England in September. Her international victories and confidence served as the impetus to ultimately uncover her enormous potential in the WBBL.