Smriti Mandhana signs for Brisbane Heat in WBBL

20-year old Indian woman cricketer Smriti Mandhana has signed for the Brisbane Heat for the upcoming edition of the Women’s Big Bash League scheduled to take place later this year to coincide with the Australian summer.

Mandhana, who is an opener for the Indian team is only the second Indian player to sign in the WBBL with the first being Indian vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur. The team management of the Brisbane Heat went on to release a statement regarding the signature of Mandhana.

BREAKING: We have secured the silken batting skills of star Indian batsman @mandhana_smriti ?? More: https://t.co/MXvwgMjteK #TurnUpTheHeat pic.twitter.com/UyHdxkJgPQ

— Brisbane Heat WBBL (@HeatWBBL) September 27, 2016

Speaking about the same, Mandhana said that she was indeed pleased upon receiving such an opportunity early on in her cricketing career.

“It feels great to be a part of Big Bash,” Smriti told Cricbuzz after the signing. “I’ve always been looking forward to playing in that tournament. And getting this opportunity to participate at such a young age and getting to gain good experience from it, will help me immensely in the future. I’m very fortunate to have been signed with them,” she added.

Mandhana made her T20 international debut in Vadodara in 2013 against Bangladesh as a lanky 18-year old. She left her imprint on the international scene with a knock of 51 on her Test debut against England Women in Wormsley in 2014.

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In recent times, Mandhana has been in some good form with some fantastic performances in the Australian tour in the fall of 2015. She smashed a century in the ODI against the Southern Stars played at Hobart. However, the heroics went in vain as Meg Lanning and her side clinched a six-wicket win. The Heat have now added to their batting unit as well when they roped in Deandra Dottin, the West Indies power hitter.