Veterans Jonassen, Wyatt-Hodge ruled out of WBBL|12

Former Brisbane Heat captain Jess Jonassen and Hobart Hurricanes international Danni Wyatt-Hodge have been ruled out of WBBL|12 just three days out from the competition's opening day.

Jonassen, who is the Heat's most-capped women's player, is set to miss the upcoming season with a hip complaint.

The 33-year-old's last professional match was for Queensland Fire against NSW on October 1 in the WNCL.

She's now set to miss the entire WBBL season with the hope of returning to the state-based competition in 2027.

It's the second year in a row Jonassen has had a season disrupted by injury, having missed four matches in WBBL|11 due to shoulder surgery.

“Last year I was managing a shoulder injury and tried to play through until it got too much for me and was having an effect on both my own and the team’s performances, as well as my mental health,’’ Jonassen said.

“We considered whether playing through injury was available again, but the advice was to have this period of recovery now, so I can be available of the rest of the season.

“The plan is to be back training in December and be ready to play again in our next WNCL fixture."

The 153-game Big Bash veteran led the club to five consecutive finals series after taking over the reigns from Kirby Short in 2020.

Following the side's winless WBBL|11 campaign, Jonassen announced she was stepping down as captain of the Heat and Fire in March.

The left-arm spinner holds the record for the most wickets in Big Bash history (184) across both men's and women's competitions.

England batter Wyatt-Hodge will also miss this year's event due to a calf injury, with the Hurricanes announcing Sri Lanka international Chamari Athapaththu as her replacement.

Wyatt-Hodge was the club's leading run-scorer in their title-winning campaign, making 432 runs at 48.00 earning her the organisation's WBBL player of the year award.

Athapaththu has signed with her fourth club after the Thunder opted not to trigger the third-year option on her contract.

The WBBL|09 player of the tournament has featured in each of the past seven editions of the women's Big Bash, having previously played for Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers prior to her stint in western Sydney.

Hurricanes head of high performance Salliann Beams said Athapaththu's characteristics make her an imposing figure for any opposition, as she prepares to join last year's player of the final Lizelle Lee at the top of the order.

"We're obviously incredibly disappointed for Danni (Wyatt-Hodge), who has been such an important part of our group and was influential in our maiden championship last year,” Beams said in a statement.

“We wish her all the very best with her recovery. To be able to bring in someone of Chamari's (Athapaththu) quality and experience is a fantastic result for the Hurricanes.

“She's one of the most dangerous batters in world cricket, she's a proven performer in the WBBL and she brings enormous leadership experience as captain of Sri Lanka.

“We saw just how influential she can be during her player of the tournament campaign with the Thunder, and we're really excited about what she can bring to our group.

“Chamari plays an aggressive, fearless brand of cricket that fits perfectly with the way we want to play, and we're looking forward to welcoming her to Hobart.”

WBBL|12 starts on Thursday with a double-header at Junction Oval with the Renegades taking on the Thunder before Melbourne Stars host the Hurricanes under lights in Melbourne.