Brisbane Heat rope in Smriti Mandhana for WBBL 2016-17

Smriti Mandhana, the India Women's opener, has been signed up by Brisbane Heat for the second season of Australia's Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), the franchise announced on Tuesday (September 27).

Mandhana, 20, becomes only the second Indian cricketer to be picked up by a foreign Twenty20 league, after defending champions Sydney Thunder confirmed the signing of Harmanpreet Kaur, India Women's vice-captain, in July.

"It feels great to be a part of Big Bash," Smriti told Cricbuzz after the signing. "I've always been looking forward to playing in that tournament. And getting this opportunity to participate at such a young age and getting to gain good experience from it, will help me immensely in the future.

"I'm very fortunate to have been signed with them," she added.

Mandhana, who was fast-tracked into the Maharashtra Under-19 setup at the young age of 11, made her international debut against Bangladesh Women in a Twenty20 International (T20I) in Vadodara in 2013. She left her imprint on the international scene with a knock of 51 on her Test debut against England Women in Wormsley in 2014.

When India toured Australia in January this year to partake in three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20Is, she crunched a century, full of attacking intent, in the 50-over game played in Hobart. However, her gallant effort went in vain as Australia Women won the encounter by six wickets.

Mandhana's enterprise with the willow was evident even in the three-match T20I series when she notched up crucial knocks of 29 and 22 not out at the Adelaide Oval and Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) respectively, to pilot India to their first-ever series win against the home side in the shortest format of the game. Her only fifty in the T20I format came in 2014 against South Africa Women.

Earlier in August, Heat also roped in West Indies batting star Deandra Dottin.