Last Updated on 4 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Mandhana, Deepti Sharma sign with Sydney Thunder | Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma sign with Thunder for WBBL 2021
Indian pair of Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma have signed for Sydney Thunder to play in the upcoming season of the Women’s Big Bash League starting October 14. The pair will be replacing the English players Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont who are unavailable for the tournament. Thunder will be defending their title and hoping to make it two in two.
Mandhana has previously represented WBBL sides Hobart Hurricanes and Brisbane Heat. This is the first WBBL outing for Deepti Sharma who represented London Spirit in the recently concluded Hundred where she claimed 10 wickets at an economy of 5.26. Previously she has also played for Western Storm in the now defunct Kia Super League where she was part of the title winning side along with Mandhana back in 2019.
“Playing in overseas leagues gives you a lot of experience” – Mandhana
“Playing in overseas leagues gives you a lot of experience, especially in the T20 format,” Mandhana said. “Then, of course, you exchange so much experience with each other . . . with all the players from over the world . . . so you get to learn a lot. Rather than ‘pressure’, I always look at it as an opportunity to learn, and to get used to that pressure because it only builds when you play international cricket.”
Sharma was excited to get her first taste of WBBL and hopes to live up to the expectations. “This is my first time [in the WBBL], so I’m excited,” Sharma said. “I’ve had offers before, but I couldn’t play at the time because at the time we had [an international] series.
Coach Trevor Griffin has worked with the pair before during his tenure as the coach of Western Storm and felt that the duo are the perfect players to replace Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont.
“While it’s disappointing not to be able to have Heather back, if you could choose any replacement for her it would be Deepti – she’s also a star,” Griffin said. “She offers a lot with the bat – Deepti is a match-winner – and she also has the talent to bowl in the powerplay, during the middle of a match, or at the death.
“Smriti is an opening batter who has the tremendous ability to take everything in her stride. I like that she keeps her game really simple; she just wants to score runs. I’m delighted to have her on board, and I have no doubt that she’ll prove to be a great addition to Thunder.”
This takes the number of Indian players to play in the WBBL 2021 to four with Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav signing on with Sydney Sixers.
Hopefully this further encourages the BCCI to put efforts into establishing a Women’s IPL to enhance the image of Women’s cricket and cricketers in the country and to let the young female cricketers rub shoulders with some of the best from around the world.
Written by Nash Sant. Follow Nash on Twitter today
