India allrounder impressed the Brisbane hierarchy during last year’s tour of Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2022Allrounder Pooja Vastrakar has become the latest India women’s player to commit to the WBBL, signing with Brisbane Heat.Vastrakar caught the attention of WBBL clubs with her outstanding performances on India’s tour of Australia late last year and followed that up with some excellent performances with both bat and ball in the women’s 50-over World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year.Poonam Yadav played for Heat last season and Smriti Mandhana has also previously played in Brisbane but played for Sydney Thunder last season. India’s women have had a lot of success in the WBBL with Harmanpreet Kaur named player of the tournament last season.Heat coach Ashley Noffke was delighted to have signed Vastrakar.”Pooja is an outstanding athlete,” Noffke said. “She bowls with sharp pace, can find the boundary with the bat down the order and is an absolute jet in the field.”We’re very pleased to welcome her to the WBBL and are excited about the experience we can offer her. She’s certainly a player of the future for India and one that we expect can make a difference for the Heat this summer.”Vastrakar is in India’s Commonwealth Games squad but will miss their opening clash with Australia on Friday after contracting Covid-19 before leaving India.Vastrakar joins New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr as Heat’s second overseas player for the coming season.Brisbane Heat WBBL squad: Jess Jonassen (capt), Amelia Kerr (NZ), Pooja Vastrakar (Ind), Nicola Hancock, Grace Harris, Laura Harris, Mikayla Hinkley, Ellie Johnston, Charli Knott, Georgia Redmayne, Courtney Sippel, Georgia Voll