India Women stars relishing Big Bash opportunity
Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur, the first two Indians to be signed up for the second edition of the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia, hope their stint at the first T20 league of its kind would inspire more young cricketers in India.
Harmanpreet, an aggressive batter and handy offspinner, will join Sydney Thunder, the champions, where Stafanie Taylor, the West Indies captain, and the Southern Stars' Alex Blackwell, Erin Osborne and Rene Farrell will be her teammates.
Mandhana, the 20-year-old left-hand batter, will join Brisbane Heat, and will feature alongside the likes of West Indies’ Deandra Dottin, and Australia’s Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney and Holly Ferling.
“It’s a great feeling, the WBBL is a great platform for women’s cricketers, being the first player from my country to sign a contract for a BBL club is one of my best moments,” said Harmanpreet, who added that she had been approached by three teams.
Mandhana said she was looking forward to learning from the playing culture in Australia, with specific focus on fitness, preparation and fielding. The WBBL, with its keenly contested games played before good crowds and a growing television audience, is expected to be a good lesson in soaking up pressure. “Playing 14 quality matches with quality teams and quality players will definitely count as experience. When I come back and play for India, it will help because I would have played those players and been in those situations.”
Harmanpreet, 27, has represented India 118 times across all formats, and impressed during India’s tour of Australia, the No. 1 ranked team, earlier in the year, scoring a 31-ball 46 to help India record their highest successful T20I chase.
Mandhana, 20, who has 645 runs from 20 One-Day Internationals and 321 runs from 20 T20 Internationals, too had a good tour of Australia. She brought up her maiden hundred in the second ODI in Hobart after a vital knock in a rain-hit second T20I helped India, chasing 66 in 10 overs, seal a historic series win.
“I am looking forward very much to working with the Australian girls in the Heat squad after playing against them last season,” said Mandhana. “That was a good series, and I noticed there was a definite difference between their preparation and our preparation so I am keen to learn from the differences.”
She is driven by the expectation of doing well for her team, which finished sixth in the eight-team table in the inaugural edition of the WBBL. “The challenge will be in adapting to the bounce and pace of the wickets,” she says. “I will work on that after the domestic season (in October). “Working on it now will not help, since we’re playing in home conditions.”
In June this year, the BCCI cleared the path for its female players to participate in foreign leagues. New Zealand and the West Indian stars have credited their experience from the WBBL for their improved performances on the world stage during the ICC Women's World T20. As the ICC Women’s Championship enters its final rounds and with qualification for the ICC Women's World Cup 2017 at stake, India, too, will hope to benefit from its players’ Australian stint.
