Poonam Yadav joins Brisbane Heat for WBBL 2021

Poonam Yadav is all set to join Brisbane Heat for the WBBL 2021. The Indian leg-spinner will fill the void left by New Zealand cricketer Amelia Kerr. With this signing, Poonam has joined a large pool of Indian players who will appear in the upcoming edition of the tournament. Poonam Yadav has played a limited role in the ongoing series against Australia so far. The Brisbane Heat’s head coach Ashley Noffke is of the opinion that the arrival of Poonam Yadav in the team will bring a lot of benefits. 

"We know there is a lot of upside to Poonam coming on board this summer. When we lost Amelia Kerr, we were confident we could back our group to give a good account of themselves regardless. But adding Poonam's skill and her competitiveness is a huge result" he explained.

The captain of Brisbane Heat, Jess Jonassen is another quality spinner, and the duo of Poonam Yadav and her can do wonders for the team. Speaking about the role of Poonam in the team, Noffke said that the team will utilise her talent and Jonassen is keen on working with the leggie. 

"She is a different type of bowler to Melie, and we are clear on how we can best utilise her talents in our line-up. Jess Jonassen has played against her and as captain, she is very keen to work alongside her now she is with the Heat," he remarked. 

Poonam Yadav has played 71 T20Is and picked 98 wickets from them. Noffke is of the opinion that the team will benefit from her experience in international cricket as she can play a mentoring role with young members of the team. 

"We're really keen for her to share those insights with our players during the tournament and will urge the group to learn as much as they can," he said.

The tournament will begin on October 14 and Brisbane Heat will play against Perth Scorchers in their opening fixture on October 17 at Bellerive Oval, Hobart.