Defending Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) champions Sydney Thunder on Sunday signed up India batter Smriti Mandhana and leading all-rounder Deepti Sharma as they look to start their title defence next month.
The pair will replace the English duo of Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont who have declared their inability to participate in the tournament.
Sydney Thunder coach, Trevor Griffin, said his team’s title defence “had received an extra edge with Indian superstars Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma signing on for the club’s WBBL-7 campaign”.
“The pair, who are in Queensland with India’s national team for the ODI series and Test match against Australia, were identified by Thunder as quality players with the ability to make an explosive impact on the T20 competition,” a Sydney Thunder statement said on Sunday.
Mandhana starred for India in Friday night’s (September 24) nail-biting, final-ball loss to Australia in Mackay. Her innings of 86 from 94 balls was highlighted by 11 boundaries, and it helped set up India’s competitive total of 274 runs.
Sharma made her presence felt in the ODI match described as one of the most thrilling played in Australia, with a knock of 23 runs and by capturing Tahlia McGrath’s wicket.