“If you look for ‘Anushka Sharma + cricket’ on your search engines, you’re going to have to scroll a fair amount till you find the one you’re looking for. A few performances like this and that won’t be an issue,” Charles Dagnall quipped on commentary during the UP Warriorz vs Gujarat Giants WPL fixture at the D.Y. Patil Stadium.
The 22-year-old’s sublime strokeplay and confidence were on show in a handy 44-run knock from 30 deliveries on WPL debut.
Taking Beth Mooney’s place in the middle alongside veteran Sophie Devine, Anushka broke free when she got down on one knee and smacked Asha Sobhana for four behind square. However, it was the link-up with skipper Ashleigh Gardner and their crucial 103-run stand that set up the Giants for their highest-ever WPL total of 207.
“To be honest, I was a little nervous. Sorted itself out when I played two to three balls,” she told broadcasters during the mid-innings break.
Anushka used her crease and stepped back to allow herself time to send the ball to the fence. Her smack over Kranti Gaud’s head for four, different from a similar strike from Devine early on, only in distance, was particularly eye-catching. Looking steadily ahead for a half century on debut, the strategic timeout broke momentum, with Anushka holing out to Harleen Deol off Deandra Dottin’s bowling in the second over post resumption.
Making heads turn
The all-rounder’s exploits come as no surprise given her recent run in the domestic circuit.
She struck a 58-ball 80 for Central Zone in the Senior Women’s Interzonal Trophy—finishing with 155 runs from five games—followed by a 207-run in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy. She was the second-highest run-scorer in the Madhya Pradesh Women’s League: 93 runs in four matches for Bundelkhand Bulls and also made her case for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and UP Warriorz in pre-auction trials.
Anushka becomes the latest export from Madhya Pradesh, a state with a history of producing astute cricketers like Sandhya Agarwal, Pooja Vastrakar, and, most recently, Vaishnavi Sharma.
“Cricket has always been good in MP, be it for the boys or girls,” Anushka told Sports stars ahead of the season.
“But ever since Chandrakant Pandit took over, he has groomed players quite a bit. He’s seen what the strength of every individual player is and has assigned roles accordingly. He examines how we can refine our strengths and what we need to develop. He prioritises team bonding activities. The boys and girls practice in a mixed group from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, across four to five sessions.
“We also had sessions on how to improve our communication skills and were trained in public speaking and sessions in the library. He looks at what overall qualities an individual cricketer should have and looks to tick all those boxes.
Pandit is also known for his no-compromise approach to discipline. Anushka agrees with a big grin on her face.
“Ever since he came, players have become very disciplined. Earlier, we used to singularly think about winning, but never about how to win. What kind of preparation do we need to get there? So this goal setting and execution is something we’ve improved on under him.”
From gully to the gallery
Much before she found herself in Pandit’s care, cricket for Anushka was about playing with her brother Ayush. A big Sachin Tendulkar fan, he needed a bowler to practise his shots on, and there began her tryst with bowling, initially as a medium pacer.
“I liked playing cricket, but I didn’t initially have much interest. When I was around five, my brother taught me to bowl pace so he could bat. I liked batting more, but the bats weren’t of my size. You remember the wooden bats we wash clothes with? That fit me so I played with that before my father eventually got me a plastic bat and then a wooden one. I played proper cricket first at the U-16 level. I gave trials and got selected. I was the best all-rounder there. I then entered the Central Zone side and finished with the best all-round performance there, too. That helped me break into the U-19s.”
And she hasn’t looked back since.
Despite usually prioritising academic brilliance—Ayush graduated from IIT Bombay and works as a data scientist, as do the others in her joint family at home—her folks never pressured her to tread the same path.
She was allowed to own her choices, right from the sport she picked to her preferences within it.
“Itni si shareer hai mera, 2-3 ball dalne mein kandhe mein dard hota tha (I am quite thin, so bowling pace was a strain on my shoulders),” Anushka remembered as she explained her switch from medium pace to off-spin. But no such excuse works with the bat in an age where muscling the ball long is the mandate.
“When I was younger, I was thin and didn’t have the power to get the ball past the rope. I was and always have been a good timer of the ball. Gradually, with the demands of the game changing, I have worked on my power game as well.”
Sessions at the gym, starting with light weights, became a staple in Anushka’s routine from the age of 15. But she didn’t yet know how to complement that with proper nutrition. Her trainer, Shreyanshi Singh, then guided her through it.
Anushka, incidentally a huge Virat Kohli fan, watched his exploits on TV religiously. It only bolstered her drive to stay with the sport and make a name for herself in it.
Towards that end, the family considered a move to Indore, but nothing clicked. Their sights then turned to a Government facility in Shivpuri near Gwalior, the Shrimant Madhav Rao Scindia Cricket Academy, where renowned coach Arun Singh operated. His record of producing Ranji Trophy players and even a few accomplished women players made the move easy on Anushka and her family.
Singh has been a tough customer too, much to Anushka’s delight.
“In the last year, I’ve worked on my power hitting a lot more. There is a huge gap between domestic and India level and the national side only accommodates only 15 players. I wanted to be able to design my game accordingly. I focused on power hitting, picking gaps and range hitting. Over two sessions, I sometimes smacked 500–600 balls to get all this polished in Shivpuri under Arun sir.”
MI players Sanskriti Gupta and Rahila Firdaus also train alongside her under Singh.
The grind
A few months ago, Anushka had just gotten done with a Senior Women’s T20 Trophy fixture in Chandigarh when the auction began. The team had their eyes pasted on proceedings on the bus ride back to the hotel, which was a fairly long commute.
“I kept waiting for my name to pop up, but it never did. I felt a bit disappointed but made peace with it and put my phone away. But then, I couldn’t resist and logged on again, and I saw my name come up. Never in my dreams did I expect interest from three teams and for me to get picked,” she gushed.
Her family members were together back home. Her brother had just gotten married a few days prior. When the gavel came down on her acquisition, media persons flooded their residence. She still remembers her father’s proud face as he spoke of her and showed off her cups and medals.
One can imagine her folks beaming with pride as she staked her claim to stardom with a calm and cool performance alongside Gardner, a player she was most excited to spend time around when she learned of her selection to the side.
“She is such a talent. To spend time out in the middle…she keeps it simple and for a young player, to be brave enough to do that, amazing to be at the other end,” Gardner said in praise of the youngster.
Coach Michael Klinger went a step further in the post-match chat with reporters.
“Anushka, I don’t want to make a big statement but she’s going to be playing for India.
“She’s got time in the crease, she’s timing the ball beautifully. She can hit both through the field and over the field. She bowls really well too, but didn’t get a look in today. She’s really good in the field, which is why three teams bid for her in the auction. We thought she’d go under the radar and identified her. People in India obviously know what a high-quality player she is. From what I’ve seen so far in a very short time, she’s got a long career ahead of her.”
From rethinking her path in cricket after a lean domestic season a few years ago to hogging the headlines in the team studded with international biggies, Anushka has come a long way. The exciting thing, for her and for Indian cricket, is that she’s just getting started.
Published on Jan 11, 2026
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