New Delhi, Nov 28 (IANS) Brisbane Heat skipper Jess Jonassen has lauded veteran Shikha Pandey’s impact on the side’s campaign in the ongoing WBBL Season 10, adding that the veteran India fast-bowler has really added a lot of value by talking about various intricacies of the game.
Shikha, who hasn’t been a part of the Indian team since after the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup, has picked 12 wickets in 10 matches for the Heat in the current season and landed a spot in the WBBL’s team of the tournament, making her the only Indian player to do so.
“Having the international class of someone like Shikha Pandey around, who can talk fast bowling (with local players), talk tactics, talk plans, I think that’s something that’s really added a lot of value to our pace bowling attack, particularly, that I feel like a lot of those girls have really thrived upon,” said Jess Jonassen, the veteran Australia left-arm spinner, to cricket.com.au.
The club, currently on a five-match winning streak in the competition, also has India top-order batter Jemimah Rodrigues in their ranks for the upcoming challenger match they will play against Sydney Thunder for a spot in the final at the Allan Border Field on Friday.
The winner of Friday’s clash will be up against the Melbourne Renegades in the final at the MCG on Sunday. “I think the only people that were concerned were those from outside of these walls. I feel like we’ve proved a few of the doubters wrong, but we’re by no means done proving that point,” said Jonassen.
“It’s part of where the women’s game is going, and the professionalisation that there is, there is going to be player movement. It goes to show the strength of our domestic set-up here in Queensland, that we produce so much talent. I think almost every franchise in the competition has at least one Queenslander. That’s part of it. That’s something that we’re incredibly proud of as an organisation as well,” concluded Jonassen.
–IANS
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