Smriti Mandhana headlines WMPL as icon player for Ratnagiri Jets

Ratnagiri Jets, the two-time winners of the Men`s Maharashtra Premier League, have announced their official entry into women`s cricket by acquiring a franchise in the Women`s Maharashtra Premier League (WMPL). Ahead of the event, the franchise named Smriti Mandhana as their icon player for the next three editions.

India`s left-handed opener Mandhana was also recently awarded the `Best International Cricketer of the Year` by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

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Mandhana, speaking on her association with the Ratnagiri Jets, said: “I’m thrilled to join the Ratnagiri Jets family as their icon player. The franchise has demonstrated success in the MPL and a clear vision for the women’s game. I’m excited to play a part in shaping the next chapter of this journey and cannot wait to hit the ground running with my new teammates. Together, we aim to inspire and win hearts both on and off the field”.

The Women`s Maharashtra Premier League`s auction is set to take place on April 17 in Pune. Ahead of the auction, the talismanic batter was one of the top picks.

In the Women`s Premier League (WPL), under Mandhana`s captaincy, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won its first-ever title. Over the years, representing India, the left-hander has emerged as one of the premier batswomen for the national team.

So far, she has represented Team India in 148 T20 Internationals, 98 One-Day Internationals and seven Test matches. Despite T20 being her premier format, the Mumbai-born cricketer has more runs in ODIs. She has 4,209 runs in the 50-over format and 3,761 runs in the shortest format of the game.

In the seven longest-format matches, the left-hander has registered 629 runs. She was a part of the 2022 Asian Games, 2016 and 2022 Asia Cup-winning Team India.

Coming to the Women`s ODI rankings, Mandhana is placed second on the list with 738 points to her name. The left-hander also enjoys the third spot on the Women`s T20I rankings. Except for her, no other Team India batswoman is in the top 10 rankings of either format.