![Yastika Bhatia to play WBBL 2026-27 season after late signing [Source: AFP]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1793170748600_YastikaBhatiaWBBL.jpg?type=hq)
Yastika Bhatia to play WBBL 2026-27 season after late signing [Source: AFP]
Indian wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia is all set to feature in the WBBL 2026-27 season as an injury replacement. She has signed with Brisbane Heat Women and will likely join the squad before November.
Notably, the WBBL 2026-27 season is scheduled to begin on October 28 with Melbourne Renegades taking on Sydney Thunder in the opening game. However, ahead of the tournament, the Heat have made a big change in squad.
Yastika Bhatia is heading to WBBL
In a notable development, Brisbane Heat have replaced Jess Jonassen with Yastika Bhatia for the upcoming WBBL 2026-27 season. Jonassen is unavailable for the tournament due to a hip injury.
Hence, the Heat turned to Bhatia as an injury replacement. She is expected to join the squad for the whole season before their match against Sydney Thunder on November 1.
Having said that, this isn’t Bhatia’s first WBBL stint. Previously, she played for Melbourne Stars in WBBL 2024, featuring in six matches. She scored 154 runs, making her the team's second-highest run-scorer behind Meg Lanning, who scored 158 runs.
However, Yastika's strike rate was 104.76, suggesting she scored at a relatively measured pace in that campaign. Regardless, the new stint with Brisbane Heat is an opportunity for Yastika Bhatia to compete at the highest level and improve her performance.
Yastika is the sole Indian player to feature in WBBL
Interestingly, Yastika Bhatia is the only Indian cricketer to have signed with a WBBL franchise for the 2026-27 season. Earlier in the draft process, no Indian national got picked by any team whatsoever.
Indian captain Smriti Mandhana, who previously featured in multiple WBBL seasons, withdrew from the draft process as she shifted her focus to national duties. Other notable players like Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma also didn’t make the cut.
So this year, Yastika Bhatia will be the only one to represent India at the mega stage of WBBL. Her performance will be closely tracked by the Indian fans, thus increasing the buzz of the tournament.
