India's vice-captain Smriti Mandhana was bagged by RCB for a record fee of Rs 3.4 crore at the WPL Auction 2023 on Monday, February 13, and she could not control her excitement over it. Mandhana was caught on camera celebrating the contract with the Royal Challengers Bangalore with other Team India members. The Indian team is currently in South Africa, taking part in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023. Only yesterday, they beat Pakistan by 7 wickets and a day later, they are winning in Mumbai too. RCB welcomed the star batter with an exceptional tweet. They shared a photo from yesteryear when Mandhana had met RCB's men's team batter Virat Kohli.
After getting picked, Mandhana tweeted to send a message to RCB fans: 'Namaskara Bengaluru'. In a conversation with Jio Cinema, Mandhana showed her happiness over joining the RCB franchise.
In the photo, one can see, Mandhana shaking hands with Kohli with a big smile on her face. No wonder she always wanted to be part of the RCB family. The tweet has instantly got viral as RCB fans too cannot hold their excitement. RCB captioned the photo: "#18 meets #18" with a emoji reflecting the message.
Take a look at Mandhana and Kohli's viral pic below:
#18 _ #18#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #WPL2023 #WPLAuction pic.twitter.com/yPgaCXazxx
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) February 13, 2023
Mandhana is among the most dangerous batters in the world, who opens for Team India. She is also the captain of the Indian women's cricket team. In 112 T20Is, Mandhana has smashed 2651 runs at a strike rate of 122 while she has 20 fifties to her name. She has also played 77 ODIs, scoring 3073 runs and 4 Tests in which she has accumulated 325 runs.
In all Likelihood, Mandhana will be the captain of the RCB as well. The franchise has paid Rs 3.4 crore for her and would be wanting her to lead the side as well. Not to forget, RCB have also got Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry, explosive wicketkeeper and batter Richa Ghosh and India pacer Renuka Thakur. Sophie Devine is also a part of the Women's team of the RCB franchise. They are already looking a dangerous side in the league, at least on paper.
