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A day after the Sydney Thunder confirmed the signings of Indian stars Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma, Sydney Sixers have signed India’s batting sensation Shafali Verma and left-arm spinner Radha Yadav for the WBBL. The club made the announcement on Monday, September 27. The news comes a day after India’s two-wicket win over Australia, where Verma scored her maiden ODI half-century. The Indian batter will join the star-studded Sixers batting line-up featuring Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Erin Burns, and former Australia batter Nicole Bolton.
The 17-year old is the world’s top-ranked T20I batter and had played for Birmingham Phoenix in the inaugural editin of The Hundred. With her exemplary batting exploits, Verma has bagged her maiden WBBL deal.
In the official statement by the Sydney Sixers, Verma was quoted as saying
“This is a very good opportunity for me and my goal is to just enjoy myself, to make some new friends and have fun. I want to play WBBL and back myself and just believe in myself.”
Ben Sawyer, the head coach of the franchise was full of praise for the teenager. Sawyer worked with the Indian opener in the recently-concluded The Hundred in England.
“She hits to different areas of the field and plays shots that are different to the other three girls in that top four. The experience I had with her in Birmingham was that she wants to learn, she wants to get better and she wants to grow as a player and as a person.”
The franchise has also roped in Radha Yadav, who will be making her maiden appearance in the WBBL.
Speaking about the signing, Yadav said
“Lots of young Indian girls want to play in the WBBL. It is a very good standard and I am so happy to be able to play for the Sixers this year."
Sawyer believes a left-arm orthodox bowler like Yadav will add to the team both with the ball and bat.
“Radha brings a skill set that we have never had at the Sixers and that’s very exciting. I think a left-arm ortho bowler is so important in the WBBL and having one who is world class is such a great opportunity for this team. She has also batted in the middle of the order for India so she is handy with the bat too,” he said.
