New Delhi, June 29: India's Deepti Sharma, the second best all-rounder in ODIs, will be playing for the Western Storm in the KIA Super League, a women's T20 competition organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board. She joins leading batswoman Smriti Mandhana in the Western Storm squad.

"I am looking forward to the challenge of playing in the KIA Super League. Every player wants to play alongside and against the best in the world, and this will give me the opportunity to do that," said Deepti as per the Western Storm website after her signing with the franchise.

"I have heard good things about Western Storm from Smriti and I can't wait to contribute to the team's success on the field," she added.

The 21-year-old has played in 30 T20Is, taking 28 wickets with her off-spin at an average 22.92. She has also featured in 48 ODIs, taking 56 wickets at an average 27.39 with a best of six for 20. She also averages 41.81 with the bat in ODI cricket.

After completing the signing, Western Storm head coach Trevor Griffin said: "Deepti is a quality player with a huge amount of experience at the very highest level and she will bring something a little bit different to our squad this year.

"Continuity of selection is something that has played a huge roll in our success over the last few years, and therefore we felt it was important to sign overseas players who will be with us for the duration of the campaign.

"She's still only 21 but she will bring a huge amount of experience and knowledge to our dressing room. She is currently rated as the second-best all-rounder in the world in one-day cricket by the ICC, so her quality is there for all to see," he added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 29, 2019 02:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).