India’s senior opening batter Smriti Mandhana has decided to skip the upcoming Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) to focus in the Indian domestic circuit. The Southpaw had skipped the last WBBL as well to manage her workload and focus on her India commitments during a busy international year. Same as last year, Mandhana did not put her name in the list of 122 players for the overseas draft, and might instead play for Maharashtra in the Indian domestic season. However, that is not confirmed as yet.
WBBL will be played between October 19 to December 2
The Senior Women’s T20 Trophy, which will take place from October 19 to November 9, will kick off India’s women’s domestic season. The Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Trophy will be held from November 24 to December 4, followed by the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy from January 4 to 26. The T20 Challenger Trophy and the Inter-Zonal One Day Trophy are not included in the senior women’s tournament calendar, which was announced by the BCCI in April of this year.
The WBBL will also kick off on October 19 and go on until December 2, and will also clash partially with India’s busy international home season. Mandhana, who recently won the Women’s Hundred final with Southern Brave, has appeared in three of the WBBL’s eight seasons, representing the Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, and Sydney Thunder.
The first Women’s Premier League (WPL) was added to the women’s calendar earlier this year, with Mandhana being the most expensive player at the auction for INR 3.4 crore, as well as captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, who won only two of their eight games and finished second from in the inaugural edition of the WPL.