TRAILBLAZER JOINS HEAT | Yastika Bhatia Signs For WBBL

The 26-year-old left-hander became the first woman to score a Test century at Lords in July, a high point in a career that has seen her play28 T20 Internationals and 26 ODIs so far for India.

Her 113 was a stand-out effort, complementing strong performances in white ball cricket, including being part of the Mumbai Indians’ 2023 and 2025 Women’s Premier League championship teams.

Bhatia will replaced injured allrounder Jess Jonassen (hip) for the WBBL and will link with the squad in Sydney this weekend for their clash with the Sydney Thunder at Drummoyne Oval.

Although she will miss Friday night’s opening game against the Sydney Sixers at Allan Border Field as she travels to Australia, she is available for the remainder of the WBBL

Bhatia, who played with the Melbourne Stars in WBBL|10, joins Sarah Glenn (England) and Orla Prendergast (Ireland) as the Heat’s international recruits for WBBL|12.

A multi-sport athlete who can also keep wickets, Bhatia overcame an ACL injury that saw her miss the 2025 ODI World Cup won by India.

She made her international comeback earlier this year as part of India’s tour of England and recently captained India ‘A’.

Brisbane Heat coach Mark Sorell said the Heat was thrilled to secure Bhatia’s signature.

“Being able to sign such a quality, experienced international player so close to the tournament is great boost for us,’’ he said.

“We will miss Jess of course, but it is reassuring to bring in another strong scoring left-hander into our batting line-up.

“Yastika has good experience playing in Australia and at Allan Border Field so we are confident she will fit in nicely with the group and give the Heat fans plenty to celebrate across the competition,’’ Sorell said.

Bhatia continues a strong tradition of Indian players being part of the Heat family across the competition’s history. She joins Smriti Mandhana, Poonam Yadav, Pooja Vastrakar, Shikha Pandey and Jemimah Rodrigues in donning the teal in the WBBL.

The Heat will step-up their WBBL preparations with an opening training session for members at Allan Border Field from 4pm tomorrow. 

Tickets are on sale now through heat.com.au for Friday's opening match which gets underway at 6.10pm Qld time.