Women's BBL 2018-19: Smriti Mandhana signs with Hobart Hurricanes

Mandhana replaced her Indian teammate Veda Krishnamurthy, who made her debut for the franchise in the 2017-18 season

Dynamic Indian batswoman Smriti Mandhana has been roped in by the by Hobart Hurricanes for the fourth edition of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL). She has replaced her Indian teammate Veda Krishnamurthy, who made her debut for the franchise in the 2017-18 season.

The Indian vice-captain in T20I had previously played for the Brisbane Heat in the 2^nd season of the WBBL. However, an ACL injury forced her to pull out from the tournament right ahead of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017.

"I'm really excited to have another opportunity in the WBBL this summer. I've heard from many players that the Hurricanes group is a great squad to be around and I can't wait to get to Tasmania for the matches,” said Mandhana.

Our final signing for @WBBL|04 is @BCCIWomen's star, @mandhana_smriti! 🙌

Her first game in purple will be next weekend in Burnie!

Read the first words from our newest Hurricane here: https://t.co/kwYRpaPT53.#TasmaniasTeam #WBBL04 pic.twitter.com/HNss0myy2H

— HurricanesWBBL (@HurricanesWBBL) November 27, 2018

Hurricanes' coach Salliann Briggs said he was delighted with her squad's final signing. “Mandhana is a proven performer on the world stage, we saw that just last week with her knock against the Aussies. I can't wait to see her in purple, she's an exciting addition not only for us but for the whole competition,” she said.

Smriti Mandhana has been the third-best scorer in T20Is in 2018. She is all set to join her Western Storm captain Heather Knight, who also plays for Hurricanes in the Australian league.

At the same time, India's T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has extended her association with Sydney Thunder for the fourth season. Harmanpreet was the top scorer for Thunder in the second season when she amassed 296 runs in 12 innings with a strike rate of 117 and an average of 59.20. Not surprisingly then, she was adjudged Thunder's Player of the Tournament.