Mandhana praises Thunder's 'exceptional' teenage talent

India opener Smriti Mandhana has heaped praised on Phoebe Litchfield, describing her teenage Sydney Thunder teammate as an "exceptional" talent.

Mandhana, one of the world's best top-order batters, has spent the Weber WBBL season playing and training alongside the 18-year-old from Orange in regional NSW.

The left-handers have been sharing a net at training, and Mandhana has spent plenty of time with Litchfield in the middle after the teenager was promoted to No.3 this season.

With the Thunder middle-order missing WBBL|06 title-winning heroes Rachael Haynes and Heather Knight, Litchfield has taken her game to another level and produced her best season to date.

After 10 innings she had hit 220 runs at 24.44, just 14 runs fewer than Mandhana's 234 at 16.

Prior to Sydney's derby win on Sunday, when the India opener hit 45, Litchfield had been the Thunder's leading run scorer.

That is despite entering the WBBL off a long winter where she was unable to travel to train with her NSW Breakers teammates due to the state's lockdown, facing only throwdowns from her father in the synthetic pitch they built in their backyard several years ago.

"I've been watching her closely," Mandhana said following the Thunder's Sydney Smash victory over the Sixers.

"I think she's exceptional, she's very young but she has all the shots in her game which is very rare as an 18-year-old.

"More than that, the way she thinks about the game and the way she approaches it, it's very refreshing to see."

Mandhana herself broke into the international scene as a 16-year-old in 2013 and is a good judge of young talent given her India teammates include her 17-year-old opening partner Shafali Verma and 21-year-old Jemimah Rodrigues, who debuted aged 18.

Litchfield, also a gifted hockey player, has a reputation as a livewire on the field and a bubbly personality off it, much like Mandhana's close friend Rodrigues.

"I'm not big on (handing out) advice, I want players to learn from their mistakes," Mandhana said.

"Phoebe has a lot of high energy in her and I don't think she should let that go for anything in the world.

"Not many people are gifted with that (level) of high energy and intensity."

Litchfield, who has been completing her Year 12 exams while travelling with the Thunder this season, said before the start of the season she was looking forward to the chance to learn from the India superstar.

"She's one of my favourite left-handers to watch so I'm definitely excited to pick her brains and watch her train and bat and play," Litchfield said last month.