Shree Charani's journey: From playing cricket with a plastic bat with her mama to becoming a solution for India's left-arm spinner search

Indian Express

3 days ago

N Shree Charani's quick rise from Women's Premier League to the Indian team has its roots in her uncle's mid-day hobby of playing cricket. Kishore Reddy worked at the Rayalseema Thermal Power Station (RTPC), which is about 35 km away from his native place, Yerramala Palle, a small village in Kadapa district. He used to stay at his uncle – Charani's father – Chandra Shekar Reddy's place in the RTPC quarters.
Kishore's routine was to head to work at 9 am, returning home around 11, then playing cricket till 3 pm, and returning to the office post lunch. Neither Kishore nor his uncle, in their wildest dreams, thought that the hobby Kishore pursued for those few hours would turn out to be the foundation of Charani's India dream. When she was in Class III, she started playing with Kishore mama at their home with plastic bats, and followed him to the grounds in the quarters where she competed with players way above her age.
The 20-year-old left-arm spinner made her international debut in ODIs this April during the Tri Series in Sri Lanka, and then played her first T20I in England in June – eventually finishing as the player of the series in the five-match affair, where she was the leading wicket-taker. With 10 wickets at an average of 14.80 over the five matches, she made her presence felt in India's series win and also established herself quickly in the ODI set-up too, with a home World Cup on the horizon.
In her early years, it was athletics she pursued at the DAV school in RTPC. 'She was very good at playing Kho-Kho. She also played badminton and did 3K running,' Kishore recalled speaking to The Indian Express. When she was in Class X, her physical education instructor at school, Naresh, brought her to Hyderabad for selections at the SAI training centre in Gachibowli. 'She got selected there for athletics and she used to practice. MSK Prasad (former Indian selector) sometimes used to come to the academy. When Prasad and others saw her skills, they advised her to pick cricket.'
Chandra Shekar was not too keen on his daughter leaving athletics and opting for cricket. 'In athletics, you are by yourself; it all depends on your performance. When there are 11 players, it is harder to get the same identification among them.' However, after Prasad's advice, Charani was stubborn about taking up cricket. 'She changed her mind, told us she did not want to go to athletics anymore, she wanted to play cricket,' Chandra Shekar recalled.
Through reference from a player at the GHMC cricket academy in Kukatpally, Charani went to former Ranji cricketer Marripuri Suresh, who was the coach there at the time. Despite only having limited professional coaching in Proddatur, she already had the gift of consistency and accuracy. Additionally, because of her early years as a medium pacer while playing tennis ball gully cricket at RTPC quarters, she had a mean quicker delivery. Andhra Head Coach Srinivas Reddy was awestruck by her ability to generate the same amount of pace as medium pacers with just a four-step run-up as a left-arm spinner.
What impressed Suresh the most was the fitness level of a 16-year-old Charani. 'If fitness levels are good, there is always a good probability to mould their game at that age. Additionally, she is a power-hitting batter down the order; she could clear the boundary ropes with ease. Impressed, I focused more on her.'
Charani's rise in cricket was rapid. 'She played very well at the district (Kadapa) level. She used to bat at five and six, also came to bowl after fast bowlers were done and even sometimes took the new ball. In her first year, she used to score 50s-60s and also picked up 4-5 wickets regularly,' Suresh added.
Srinivas Reddy was looking to strengthen the bench for the senior team and Charani, in 2022, impressed at the U-19 level as an all-rounder. Although her left-arm spin was enough to take her to the next level, she needed an upgrade. 'There are usually five selection matches when we want to pick a player, and from the first game to the fifth game, there was a lot of difference in her,' Srinivas observed. 'She used to come before everyone and practice spot bowling, where we put a marker in the good length area. Those are wicket-taking deliveries.'
Even on match days, Charani would go back to the nets. 'She used to ask, 'I will bowl three more overs, please help me',' Srinivas recalled with a laugh. She got picked up for the state side at the U-19 level, and the Andhra team would go on to play the semis at the national level. Although her contributions were good in 2022, Srinivas said in 2023, there was a sudden spike in her game that caught the eye of national selectors too.
Charani's skillset saw her get picked for Delhi Capitals for Rs 55 Lakhs. She went on to have a good stint representing Team B at the Challenger Trophy in Dehradun, which got her the India call-up. The team management, in the last couple of years or so, have been looking for a left-arm spinner – a spot that's witnessed musical chairs. In Charani, they seem to have found their answer. 'She's been a find of the WPL,' India head coach Amol Muzumdar recently said. 'We were searching for a left-arm spinner and she's fitted the bill perfectly.'