From backyard dreams to World Cup glory: Sree Charani's incredible rise

Visakhapatnam: If someone had asked Sree Charani at the start of the year where she would see herself by year-end, representing India in the women’s World Cup would have seemed unlikely.

But here she is, the first cricketer from Andhra – men or women – to play in a World Cup. After a decent debut at home against South Africa, the 21-year-old left-arm spinner impressed against Australia in a high-scoring game, finishing with 3/41, including the wickets of Alyssa Healy , Phoebe Litchfield, and Annabel Sutherland .

India’s coach, Amol Muzumdar , lauded the youngster. “Sree Charani has been exceptional. Against a top-quality side like Australia, she gave just 40-odd runs in her 10 overs, and picking up those important wickets was impressive,” he said.

Charani’s journey from the small town of Yerramala Palle in Kadapa district to the Indian team is inspirational. After a couple of WPL games, she made her India debut in ODIs against Sri Lanka in April and in T20Is against England in June. She claimed 4/12 on her T20I debut and finished the England tour as the highest wicket-taker with 10 scalps, fast-tracking her into the World Cup squad.

All this is remarkable for someone for whom cricket was not her first love. She dabbled in badminton, kabaddi, and athletics, and only started cricket at 16, thanks to her uncle, Kishore Kumar Reddy, who used to play in his free time.