Image Credit- BCCI
When Minnu Mani
first began playing cricket, she was a hitter. At the age of 15, she made her
senior team debut for Kerala. But as she advanced through the ranks, she
learned how beneficial it is to have a second skill. She therefore began to
focus on her bowling at the Under-19 camps. She had no idea that her bowling
all-around skills would help her break into the Indian squad and the WPL.
Mani, who identified
herself as an all-rounder, was bid on by the Delhi Capitals and the Royal
Challengers Bangalore in the first-ever WPL auction. Prior to the Capitals
selecting her, RCB increased her base price of INR 10 lakh to INR 30 lakh
(about US $36,192). It didn’t hurt that the Capitals’ fielding coach, Biju
George, who has coached Kerala, was at the auction table. Mani, who bats
left-handed and bowls off-spin, bowled just three overs in the WPL 2023 season.
She only had three appearances overall, and she batted in two games.
Following the 2023
Women’s T20 World Cup, Mani was called up for the first time in T20I history
for the trip to Bangladesh. This was India’s first international assignment.
She didn’t receive many opportunities to bat, but she did end the three-match
series with five wickets after making her debut in the first Twenty20
International.
She entered the WPL 2024 after helping Kerala win the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy
and taking seven wickets in eight matches. But she was left out of the starting
XI after two wicketless innings in the opening three games. Which is when Meg
Lanning, the captain of the Capitals, arrived to assist her.
When Mani was
reinstated for the Capitals’ last league game against the Gujarat Giants, she
recorded her first WPL wickets. She threw one up and used it to tear apart
Ashleigh Gardner’s defence and topple her. She bowled a faster over, getting
Phoebe Litchfield caught at mid-on, the ball after it had been smashed for a
six. With two overs, nine runs, and two wickets, the Giants’ batting collapsed,
and the Capitals completed their task.
Mani’s communication
abilities and her cricket game both improved as a result of the WPL. Growing
up, she had watched Lanning lead and perform admirably for Australia. Mani was
silent on the Capitals’ setup.
“There was a bit of language problem for me, so I was not talking properly
or sharing anything to anyone. This year I feel much better and comfortable,
and have improved my [English] language also. So I am able to speak with all
the foreign players,” she says with a smile.
The Capitals have
another chance to win the WPL after failing in their first season. Mani’s
parents will be watching her team play on TV, whether or not she is in the
starting lineup. And that is a far way from the times she had to keep her love
of cricket a secret from them.