Smriti Mandhana opts out Women’s Big Bash League for second consecutive year
Smriti Mandhana (Source: Twitter)
Star Indian women’s team batter Smriti Mandhana has opted out of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) for the second time in a row, as she has not put her name forward for the inaugural player draft introduced for the first time in the league, scheduled for September 3. Interestingly, all the other Indian players, including skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, Harleen Kaur, star batter Jemimah Rodrigues, and Deepti Sharma.
Although there are a total of 122 overseas players who have put their names forward for the draft, a total of 18 Indian players are on the list, whereas Harmanpreet already plays for the Melbourne Renegades and Jemimah for the Melbourne Stars in the WBBL, so these two are already eligible for retention.
As per the reports published by ESPNcricinfo, it is likely that the 27-year-old might have opted out of the WBBL because she might be playing for Maharashtra in the domestic season, which is likely to start from October 19 to January 26 next year. As of now, the WBBL 2023 is set to be played from October 19 to December 2. The Indian team’s upcoming challenge will be in the upcoming Asian Games, which are set to be played in Hangzhou, China, on September 23.
It is pertinent to mention that Mandhana’s side in The Hundred, the Southern Brave Women, clinched the title by beating the Northern Superchargers Women, this is the first title for the Brave in the contest. The Indian left-handed batter emerged as the highest run-getter for the side, with 238 runs in nine games, but unfortunately, she was dismissed cheaply in the finals (4). After the finals, the Indian opener posted a photo with the trophy. Whereas in the game, the Chargers were bowled out for 105, while chasing 140 runs.
Here is the viral tweet of Smriti Mandhana-
https://twitter.com/mandhana_smriti/status/1695863642166894857
Indian players in the WBBL draft:
Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur (Melbourne Renegades), Harleen Deol, Hurley Gala, Richa Ghosh, Mannat Kashyap, Amanjot Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Shreyanka Patil, Sneh Rana, Jemimah Rodrigues (Melbourne Stars), Meghana Sabbineni, Deepti Sharma, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav
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