Australian all-rounder Jess Jonassen will not take part in December’s Women’s Premier League auction after telling organisers she needs more time to nurse a troublesome shoulder. Franchises were given the update during Wednesday’s pre-auction briefing, leaving one of the competition’s most reliable performers off the table at the last moment.
Jonassen, 33, has been managing the injury for a while and, according to tournament officials, will stay at home to focus on rehab. Her record in the WPL is impressive – five Player-of-the-Match awards, second only to Harmanpreet Kaur’s seven – so her absence automatically reshapes how teams might spend their purse.
The same briefing flagged three other injury concerns. Batter Pratika Rawal, wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia and seamer VJ Joshitha all remain on the auction list but cannot form part of a squad’s mandatory 15. Should any franchise still choose to bid, they will have to carry the player without the option of a replacement.
India fast bowler Pooja Vastrakar is also short of full fitness yet will be free to enter the bidding, while teenage seamer Kashvee Gautam has been cleared to play after passing her medical checks.
Attention now shifts to the marquee set that opens proceedings. Alyssa Healy, Meg Lanning, Amelia Kerr and Laura Wolvaardt headline, with India duo Deepti Sharma and Renuka Singh rounding out the high-profile group. Without Jonassen in the mix, several sides are likely to reassess whether an extra overseas all-rounder, a top-order batter or a strike quick should be prioritised early.
The auction room can be unpredictable, but late medical news often drives strategy more than any spreadsheet. Franchises have 30 slots in total (nine for overseas players) and only three hours on the rostrum to fill them, so clarity on who is actually available matters.
No firm return date has been given for Jonassen, though Cricket Australia staff are understood to be quietly optimistic she will be fully fit for next year’s international calendar. For now, the left-arm spinner will watch the auction unfold from afar, much like the fans, and hope the break does the shoulder good.
