When Smriti Mandhana received a text from Trevor Griffin in Nagpur, she knew the one thing she absolutely had to make sure before committing to anything. The head coach of Western Storm, England Super League's defending champions, was calling to find out if the Indian opener would be keen to come on board for the 2018 season. Mandhana, who was playing against England at the time, only wanted to know "where will they send me to bat".
A TIMELY OPPORTUNITY
Role clarity key to Smriti Mandhana green-lighting Super League offer
"This is the best time for me to go out there and play some quality competitive matches" © Getty
Griffin assured Mandhana they'd reserved nothing but the opening slot for her, and proceeded to procure the NOC from BCCI. "The first thing he told me was that they want me to open the batting, and I was happy that I will be getting my preferred slot," Mandhana tells Cricbuzz after her participation in the 2018 season was formally announced by the franchise on Thursday (June 14).
This role clarity was crucial to the Indian T20I vice-captain whose first appearance at a foreign T20 league was with Brisbane Heat at the Women's Big Bash League in 2016-17 season. Slotted in the middle-order at Heat - a role she had never donned even in domestic cricket - Mandhana had an underwhelming season in Australia. Her only half-century came in the game right before she
