The Sydney Sixers have confirmed the entry of two new players into their squad for the Weber WBBL|07. India’s Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav have signed up with the Sixers Team as the ultimate all-around package.
Verma, the 17-year-old batter has taken the female cricket world by storm with her stellar batting skills. A part of the top order, Verma usually opens with partner Smriti Mandhana for India. She is the youngest player among men and women to have represented India in all three formats of cricket. Verma currently also sits on the top seat of the ICC T20I Women’s Batting Rankings. Earlier this year, she was a part of the Birmingham Phoenix team at the Hundred’s inaugural edition.
Verma is expected to receive the opening position in the Sydney Sixers. If she gets it, then the six-year-old partnership of Captain Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy will be broken. Perry might be shifted down the order and Verma will take her place as Healy’s new partner. This opening duo would be very beneficial for the Sixers to have a powerful start as both these batters are known for their aggressive plays.
Upon her selection for the WBBL, Verma said, “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.”
The second addition to the team is Radha Yadav who is a left-handed orthodox spinner. Though she was not part of the ODIs against Australia, she is a regular in India’s T20I matches. Yadav also sits at the 11th spot in the ICC T20 Women’s Bowlers list. Her inclusion in the team, would provide the Sixers with a whole new skill-set option in their spin attack. Other spin attackers are off-spinners Ashleigh Gardner and Erin Burns while the leg-spinners are Jade Allen and Angela Reakes.
Teenage sensation Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav confirm their WBBL Spot officially 😍
📸 @SixersWBBL pic.twitter.com/UdrOTI7ukN
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) September 27, 2021
The Sydney Sixers coach, Ben Sawyer who also coached the Birmingham Phoenix team stated, “Shafali is very impressive. She’s such a talent and she’s fearless. 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 a person.”
Coach Sawyer talked about Yadav, “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.”
With the addition of Shafali and Radha, the Indian contingent now has four players in total for the WBBL. Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma are the two others who will play for Sydney Thunder.
WBBL|07 Sydney Sixers squad so far:
Ellyse Perry (captain), Jade Allen, Nicole Bolton, Maitlan Brown, Erin Burns, Stella Campbell, Lauren Cheatle, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Emma Hughes, Matilda Lugg, Angela Reakes, Hayley Silver-Holmes, Shafali Vermas, Radha Yadav.
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