Smriti Mandhana to become first Indian to play in England's Kia Super League

New Delhi: India Women's Cricket team opener Smriti Mandhana will become the first Indian player to appear in Kia Super League - the women's cricket super league in England.

Smriti was signed by Western Storm and will represent them in the upcoming edition of the tournament that features six teams.

The 21-year-old India opener has scored over 826 runs with the highest score of 76 in the 40 T20Is that she has played so far.

Last month, she captained the IPL Trailblazers in the recent Women's T20 Challenge, which took place ahead of the VIVO IPL Qualifier One. Smriti has also featured in the Big Bash League for Brisbane Heat.

After securing her signing, Head Coach of the Western Storm Trevor Griffin said, "We are really excited that Smriti will be joining us. She is one of the brightest young talents in the game at the moment. Although she is still young, she has a great deal of experience of the game at the highest level and we believe that she will prove to be an excellent signing."

Looking forward to the new challenge, Smriti said, "I am very excited to be playing for the Kia Super League Champions. To be the first Indian player to appear in the tournament is a real honour and I hope that I can help Western Storm to more success.