Indian cricket team's vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has once again decided to play in the Women's Big Bash League. This time she will be seen playing for the defending champion Adelaide Strikers. She has signed a pre-draft overseason contract with the franchise. She became the first Indian player to do so. Smriti Mandhana has been playing in this league for the last 10 years. She has played with 4 teams in this league so far. Apart from Smriti Mandhana, other Indian players will also be seen playing in this league.
Smriti Mandhana has played for this team before
Smriti Mandhana participated in the Women's Big Bash League for the first time in 2016. In this, she played a match with the Brisbane Heat team. After this, in 2018-19 she played for Hobart Hurricanes, while in 2021 she was part of the Sydney Thunders team. She took a break in the 2023 season. This time she has signed a contract with Adelaide Strikers. This time the league is starting from September 1.
How has the memory performance been?
Smriti Mandhana has played a total of 38 matches in this prestigious league of Australia so far. In this, she has scored a total of 784 runs at a strike rate of 130.01. Her best score was 114 not out off 64 balls. She played this innings against Renegades in 2021.
Smriti will once again play under the tutelage of Luke Williams
Smriti Mandhana will once again be seen playing under the guidance of Royal Challengers Bangalore head coach Luke Williams. The pair of Mandhana and Williams won the Women's Premier League title last year. Smriti Mandhana and Luke Williams have also been seen together in The Hundred.
Smriti Mandhana replied
After joining the Strikers, Smriti Mandhana said that she is looking forward to playing in Australia. Strikers is one of the successful teams. She is also excited to contribute to the team to her full potential. Smriti Mandhana said that she is excited to play with coach Luke Williams.
19 Indian players have got a place in the draft
A total of 19 players from India have been included in the draft in this Australian league. These include team captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemima Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Titas Sadhu, Asha Shobhana, Radha Yadav, Amanjot Kaur, Yastika Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Sneh Rana, Hemlata Dayalan, Sajna Sajeevan, Mannat Kashyap, Meghna Sabbineni, Veda Krishnamurthy, Mona Meshram and Meghna Singh.