All-rounder Pooja Vastrakar signed with Brisbane Heat on Thursday to feature in the upcoming season of the Women’s Big Bash League. Vastrakar becomes the third Indian following Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Yadav to play for the franchise.
Vastrakar, a right-arm fast bowler and a handy lower order batter, is currently recovering from Covid-19 and hopes to join the Indian squad in the Commonwealth Games Village in Birmingham before to the Women’s T20 competition’s opening rounds, reported the franchise in their announcement.
The 22-year-old, who has played 23 One Day Internationals and 27 Twenty20 Internationals, as well as two Tests, joined New Zealand allrounder Amelia Kerr as the Heat’s most recent overseas signings.
She drew the attention of Heat coach Ashley Noffke on India’s tour of Australia last year and during the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, where she had some handy contributions with the bat, scoring 156 runs and finished as her team’s second leading wicket-taker with 10 wickets.
“We’re very pleased to welcome her to the WBBL and are excited about the experience we can offer her. She’s certainly a player of the future for India and one that we expect can make a difference for the Heat this summer,” said Noffke in the announcement.
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