Indian woman batter Smriti Mandhana has said that she and her team-mates playing in the current edition of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) will give them good preparation for the 2022 Women's World Cup to be held in New Zealand.
A total of eight Indian women cricketers are playing in the WBBL this season for different teams following the completion of their multi-format series against Australia.
"This year we had a window and we were already here and had done our 14-days quarantine. It's better to stay and play some more cricket rather than go back," Mandhana told Syndey Morning Herald on Tuesday.
"We have a World Cup coming up and we don't have a BBL (Big Bash League) in our country, so it will be of benefit and a lot of experience for the eight girls in the comp (competition) and that experience will definitely count when we are back playing for India," said the Sydney Thunder opener.
Besides Mandhana, who is currently the sixth-ranked ODI batter in ICC rankings, Deepti Sharma (Sydney Thunder), Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav (Sydney Sixers), Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur (Melbourne Renegades), wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh (Hobart Hurricanes) and leg-spinner Poonam Yadav (Brisbane Heat), are the other Indians playing in the WBBL this season.
Mandhana said that her team-mates at Sydney Thunder, who were her rivals during the riveting multi-format series before the start of the WBBL, had been "extremely welcoming" of her.
"It doesn't feel like a new team or anything. I can't wait play more matches and rest of the tournament. Back in England, coach Trevor (Griffin) has been asking me for three years to come over. I told him when the schedules were accommodating for me to come over I would come and play so we are so happy that this year we could actually manage and I could come over," added Mandhana.
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