India’s T20 Vice-Captain Smriti Mandhana appreciated BCCI’s efforts of arranging the ‘A’ team series with Australia’s ‘A’ team going to be held in Australia in December this year. She said, “To have A tours was one step that all the players wanted badly. If we don’t play India A versus other teams, the bench strength won’t be formed. This is a really great move by the BCCI to send India A to Australia and gain experience.”
She continued, “I am sure before the (T20) World Cup, the girls will have valuable experience (of playing in Australia) and you never know, one or two girls, with some impressive performances, could be picked in the World Cup squad. Hopefully, the BCCI also has a cricketing calendar set for the entire year.”
On being asked about the levels of Women’s IPL Challenge and WBBL, she said that it is quite early and pre-mature to compare WIPL and WBBL at this point of time. “WBBL is an eight-team affair, while Women’s IPL was a three-team contest. Also, last year there were two teams, this year we had three, so it is getting bigger and exciting. We had crowds coming in and all those are positives as a cricketer and as for the board too’, she added.
‘Gully’ cricket player and close observer of Indian Cricket team and it’s matches. Straight forward and still socially admirable personality. Strong belief in teamwork and possess high leadership skills.