Smriti Mandhana 'convinced' to play 'out of comfort zone' in WBBL

Star Smriti Mandhana admitted that she had been convinced to leave her comfort zone and take part in the fourth season of the Women's Big Bash League if she wanted to develop as a player by the Indian coaching staff.    

Mandhana stated that she felt anxious about returning to the competition after a below-par performance in the second edition of the tournament where she scored just 89 runs in 10 innings before being affected by a season-ending ACL injury.

"I had that in my mind but as a player you need to come out of your comfort zone," she said.

"All my coaches said you need to go, if you want to develop as a player you need to leave your comfort zone," Mandhana added. 

With the next T20 World Cup all set to be hosted in Australia, the 20-year-old opener is optimistic that her experience in the WBBL will help India improve upon their semi-final finish in the recently concluded ICC Women's World T20 in the West Indies. 

"As a player you need to come out of comfort zone … when you come out and play in the WBBL there are different expectations of you as a foreign player," she said.

"And (dealing with those expectations) helps when you play in big tournaments like a World Cup," Mandhana concluded.