After a disappointing Commonwealth Games 2022, the Indian Women’s team is ready for their next challenge. Despite losing the final to the mighty Aussies, India took home a lot of positives in addition to the Silver Medal. Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian team’s captain, has demonstrated her class by scoring in important matches.
Also, whether it was her diving catches or picking wickets, Radha Yadav was brilliant throughout the competition. And not to forget, Renuka Singh Thakur, the Himalayan Express, was the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 11 wickets in just five games.
What could be a beautiful moment for any cricketer? To answer this question, playing at the home of cricket at least once would be ideal. Jhulan Goswami, India’s Chakda Express, will play her final match on the England tour at Lords. This could be the finest farewell a cricketer could receive.
With one player retiring from the squad on this tour, a new one will join for the T20Is. Kiran Prabhu Navgire has received her maiden T20I call-up. Without a doubt, India is home to the best female cricketers in the world.
Let us walk you through her path to her first international call-up.
Who is Kiran Prabhu Navgire?
The 27-year-old right-handed batter was born and raised in Solapur, Maharashtra. She was involved in athletics at first, but life had other plans for her. After bagging some trophies and medals in Javelin Throw, Shot-put, and Relay-Race, she decided to go for cricket over everything.
Kiran is not the only one who participated in a sport other than cricket. Even the greats like Ellyse Perry, Sir Vivian Richards, Suzie Bates, Jonty Rhodes, and many others were interested in other sports such as basketball, hockey and football etc. But they all had one thing in common, though: they chose cricket.
She happens to be an attacking batter, along with pretty great bowling skills. Furthermore, having her in the middle order would be ideal for a squad.
How she earned her a spot in the India T20 squad
Navgire left everything behind in 2016 to focus solely on cricket. MS Dhoni was her driving force for choosing cricket over other sports. She happens to be an admirer of captain cool. Apart from acquiring strength through athletics to slam sixes, it’s Dhoni’s magic that enabled her to deal only in boundaries.
Navgire broke the record of scoring the fastest fifty of the well-known Indian opener Shafali Verma in the Women’s T20 challenge. Shafali’s was off 30 deliveries, but the Solapur native beat it with only 25 while playing for Velocity. Kiran emerged as a fascinating talent and stole the show in an XI that included Shafali Verma, Laura Wolvaardt, and Kate Cross.
Before making her debut in the Women’s T20 Challenge, Kiran created a name for herself on the local stage by playing for Nagaland in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy not so long ago. The 27-year-old hit 525 runs and became the tournament’s leading run-scorer. When she didn’t get a chance to play from Maharashtra, she decided to play for Nagaland, and things got better for her. She also scored 162 runs off just 76 deliveries against Arunachal Pradesh on her debut, becoming the first man or woman to cross the 150 mark in a T20 game.
What does the Indian team have in store for her?
After the dismissal of Jemimah and Harmanpreet, the Indian batting order crumbled in the final of the Commonwealth Games 2022. This was not the first time the India Women’s team failed to chase the total. Having an all-rounder like Kiran Navgire on the team will be extremely valuable, not just because she can bat and bowl as well, but also because she can smash sixes at will.
And you expect your middle or lower-order batters to do the same. Many fresh girls, along with Kiran, will have the chance to show off their skills and compete with the international players because of BCCI’s commitment to guaranteeing a women’s IPL for the following year.
Her hard work has paid off in the form of this India call-up, and now she simply needs to perform like she does. Navgire has a bright future ahead of her and is prepared to represent India at the international level.
May the Solapur-Express continue to knock the ball out of the park and turn the tide for the Indian team?
