Ace cricketer Smriti Mandhana is geared up to play with the Western Storm. She has signed for the 2018 edition of the Kia Super League, it was announced on June 14.
Mandhana is set to become the first Indian to play in the England-based tournament, starting 22 July.
The left-handed batswoman is a crucial player in the Indian women’s cricket team who had helped the team reach the final of the ICC Women’s World Cup in England last year. High on happiness, she chose to be Western Storm's second overseas player for the season. Harmanpreet Kaur was the first one to do last year when she was set to play for Surrey, but she had to withdraw due to an injury.
The 21-year-old is also the fastest 50 score-getter ever by any Indian player in women’s T20I cricket
"I am very excited to be playing for the Kia Super League champions. To be the first Indian player to appear in the tournament is a real honour and I hope that I can help Western Storm to more success," Mandhana was quoted as saying by Western Storm, News18 reported.
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The champion India opener has scored over 826 runs with a high score of 76 in the 40 T20Is. She has also scored 1464 runs in 41 ODIs at an average of 37.53 with a high score of 135.
"We are really excited that Smriti will be joining us. She is one of the brightest young talents in the game at the moment. Although she is still young, she has a great deal of experience of the game at the highest level and we believe that she will prove to be an excellent signing,” said Western Storm head coach Trevor Griffin.
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In 2016, after Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana had become the second player to sign on for the overseas Twenty20 franchise, the Big Bash League ( BBL). Again in the same year, she had become the only player from the country to be named in the Women’s Team of the Year 2016, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced.
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