Legspinner Poonam Yadav has joined the large group of India players who will join the WBBL as their third overseas signing in Brisbane Heat.
Yadav, who helped Australia knock out Australia in the opening game of last year's T20 World Cup, fills the hole left by Amelia Kerr's unavailability for this year's edition and takes India's tally of stars to eight. Huh.
He has so far had a limited role in multi-format international series, playing only two ODIs where he claimed a wicket, but the Heat are upbeat about his impact. Joining Jess Jonassen would make for a strong spin-bowling pairing.
"We know there is a lot more to come with Poonam on board this summer," said head coach Ashley Knopke. "When we lost Amelia Kerr, we were confident we could support our group to give a good account of ourselves. But adding to Poonam's skills and her competitiveness is a huge result."
“He is a different type of bowler to Meli, and we are clear on how we can best use his talent in our line-up. Jess Jonassen has played against him and as captain, She is very much looking forward to working with him now. With summer."
Knopke also believes that Yadav can take on a mentoring role with the younger members of the Heat's team, based on his experiences in international cricket. "We are really looking forward to sharing those insights with our players during the tournament and would urge the group to learn as much as we can," he said.
South African all-rounders Anneke Bosch and Nadine de Klerk are the other two overseas players of the Heat.
The tournament will begin with the first 20 matches in Tasmania but the Heat will have a chance to play four games in front of home support when the tournament takes place in November in Mackay.