Sydney Sixers sign Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav for WBBL 07

Batter Verma is the number one-ranked T20 batter in the ICC player rankings while Yadav was India’s joint-highest wicket-taker in the 2018 Women’s T20 World Cup

WBBL 07 full squad lists

Sydney Sixers have signed Indian duo Shafali Verma and Radha Yadav ahead of the 2021 Women’s Big Bash League.

At just 17, Verma is the number one-ranked T20 batter in the ICC player rankings and has scored 655 runs, including three half-centuries, at a strike rate of 145.19 in 25 T20I appearances for India. She has also represented Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred, scoring 171 runs in eight matches.

Verma is expected to slot into the Sixers’ top order alongside Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry, and Ash Gardner.

Promising left-arm spinner Yadav, meanwhile, is ranked 11th in the ICC T20I bowling rankings. One of the discoveries of the 2018 Women’s T20 World Cup, the now 21-year-old was India’s joint-leading wicket-taker, with eight wickets in five appearances, and has taken 52 wickets in 40 T20I appearances to date.

^{Sydney Sixers are two-time WBBL winners, lifting the title in WBBL 02 and WBBL 03}

Commenting on his newest signings, head coach, Ben Sawyer, said: "Shafali is very impressive. She’s such a talent and she’s fearless. She hits to different areas of the field and plays shots that are different to the other three girls in that top four. The experience I had with her in Birmingham was that she wants to learn, she wants to get better and she wants to grow as a player and a person.

"Radha brings a skillset that we have never had at the Sixers and that’s very exciting. I think a left-arm ortho bowler is so important in the WBBL and having one who is world class is such a great opportunity for this team. She has also batted in the middle of the order for India, so she is handy with the bat too."

Verma voiced her excitement at securing her first WBBL contract, stating: "This is a very good opportunity for me and my goal is to just enjoy myself, to make some new friends and have fun. I want to play WBBL and back myself and just believe in myself."

"Lots of young Indian girls want to play in the WBBL," Yadav echoed. "It is a very good standard and I am so happy to be able to play for the Sixers this year."