Jersey no.18 not because of Virat Kohli or Smriti Mandhana: Phoebe Litchfield drops blunt statement

Phoebe Litchfield, the young Australian batter has been making rapid strides in women's international cricket ever since making her debut in December 2022.

She made her T20I debut in December 2022, ODI debut in January 2023 and her Test debut in June 2023. She became the youngest batter ever in the BBL to hit a half-century in men's and women's BBL. Making an impact in the tournament she also played in the Women's Hundred and the Women's Premier League.

Her biggest achievement in her brief career so far has been winning the ICC Emerging Cricket Of The Year in 2023. She was chosen as the winner among nominations like Bangladesh's Marufa Akhtar and England's Lauren Bell.

Since making her international debut against India in a T20I series, Litchfield is now very much a mainstay of the Australian batting lineup with a few of their veteran cricketers nearing their retirement.

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In an exclusive interview with India Today, she spoke about various aspects of her game and the secret behind her jersey number 18. She said she chose the jersey not because Virat Kohli or Smriti Mandhana wear the same number on their back. She also expressed her admiration for Indian southpaw Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Hard To Go Past Virat Kohli: Phoebe Litchfield

“Many people know that my jersey number is 18. It is not because of Smriti Mandhana or Virat Kohli, but funnily enough, both are my favourite players. It is hard to go past Kohli. I also like Yashasvi Jaiswal. He is a good batter to watch, and I like him because he is a lefty as well,” Litchfield mentioned.

Her most memorable series was the ODI series she played against India in December 2022. She batted in very different and alien conditions almost across turning tracks in India. She displayed the mental concentration and the technique to succeed in the pitches as she scored tons of runs.

She scored her second ODI hundred in the match at the Wankhede stadium and followed it up with knocks of 63 and 78. Scoring 260 runs at an average of 86.66 meant that Litchfield won the Player of the Series award.

With the Women's T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in October later this year, Litchfield is looking forward to playing in the tournament. Australia have won the Women's World Cup six times out of the previous eight editions. They have won the title thrice since 2018. She believes Australia are favorites to win the tournament.

“I think so. The team is trending in a really good space. We just had a few practice weeks in Brisbane. Everyone seems to be hitting the ball really well, and we are in a really good place as a team. So, I think we are definitely in a position to lift that trophy again for sure,” Litchfield signed off.

Phoebe Litchfield is already a batting mainstay within the team that names like Alyssa Healy, Elysse Perry, and Beth Mooney. She has played three Test matches, 20 ODI matches, and 13 T20I matches so far with her best performance coming in the 50-over format where she has already scored two centuries and four fifties.

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