New Delhi, March 12 (IANS) The 2025 season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) has turned out to be a forgettable one for UP Warriorz (UPW), who finished at the bottom of the points table with just six points. Amidst the negatives, a positive which would have pleased the side is the emergence of young pace-bowling all-rounder Kranti Goud.
Hailing from Ghaura, a village in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, Kranti picked six wickets in eight games to be a great find for Deepti Sharma-led UPW. The most impactful performance of Kranti came when she picked 4-25 and helped UPW get their win of the season over the Delhi Capitals in Bengaluru.
Kranti’s first scalp in WPL will always hold a special place in her heart – of castling Meg Lanning, the legendary batter, a seven-time World Cup winner and Commonwealth Games gold medal clincher for Australia. She would go on to dismiss Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Jess Jonassen to clinch figures of 4-25.
“Whatever we had been practicing from before start of the season till the end, we had to stick and work around the lines which have been our strengths. I was told to stick to a particular line and length, as well as don’t think much about anything else. In my mind, it was just to bowl as fast as I can.
“In the first two matches, the line and length was fine, but the batter was also waiting to hit runs and that’s why they were on hitting mode. In the third match against DC, I was going for the length and line that was told to me. I tried all the balls, including the bouncers. I bowled the first ball a little out to Meg.
“Then I thought to bowl an in-swinger and she was out. I was so excited about taking her wicket in the WPL and getting her clean bowled. When my spell was over, I took four wickets, and I was feeling good that day. The trust that Deepti gave me after two matches, I want to continue with it now,” recalls Kranti in an exclusive conversation with IANS.
Kranti, who took 15 wickets in Madhya Pradesh winning the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy, had been with the Mumbai Indians as a net bowler last year. But this year turned out to be her first big brush of playing in the WPL and learning from some of the biggest players in women’s cricket.
“This is my first time of playing a match like this, so I get nervous when I would be hit for runs. The senior players explained to me that it’s okay to get hit for runs, and urged me to work on our strength. In practice, we talked about what we have to do in a match and had conversations during match days. I will be taking a lot of learnings from this experience,” she added.
Kranti’s cricketing journey began unconventionally. At 15, she spent hours tennis-ball cricket playing with boys, often from 10 am to 4 pm, and facing criticism from villagers who believed cricket wasn’t a path for girls. Undeterred, Kranti seized every opportunity, which also began her tryst of playing with the leather ball.
“We came to a tournament with two girls. I was standing there with a stick in hand. They came and asked me to play and I said yes. I thought it was a golden chance for me, that something could happen to me. I played that match and it was the first match of my life with a leather ball. I was also adjudged as the Man of the Match.
A pivotal moment in her life came when coach Rajeev Bilthare recognised her potential, that led to Kranti formally enrolling at a cricket academy. “We went to play the second match and I met my coach Rajeev sir. He asked me if I wanted to join an academy.”
“I said ‘No sir, this is the second match of my life with a leather ball’ and I hadn’t even thought about it. Then he talked to my father, who then talked to my brothers and they decided to send me to the academy.”
“I joined the academy, and I stayed there for a week in Chhatarpur, where I stayed at my coach’s house. I used to note down whatever my coach told me, and then I used to go back home. I practiced for a week at his home and continued to practice all those learnings for three weeks at my home. This continued for a year and a half.”
“He has helped me a lot from the beginning with batting, bowling and fielding, and always told me that I will become a big player one day. During domestic cricket, when I have a match tomorrow, I will talk to my coach before sleeping. We used to discuss all these things about the team and venue. Then my coach will tell me what I have to do, especially that I don’t have to think much.”
Despite societal pressures discouraging her family from supporting her cricketing aspirations, Kranti’s family stood by her side. Her brothers, especially Mayank, played a crucial role, so that she could progress in her cricketing career.
“When I started going out to play, many people told not to send me out for playing games. They would come at my home and tell my mother, brothers and sister to not send me there. They told me that I was a girl, I couldn’t do anything much by playing, and that I was going in the wrong direction.”
My family didn’t tell me all that, and I found out later that people were saying that to them. But my family always supported me. My brothers, especially Mayank bhaiya, always supported me. They told me that I could go anywhere and would send me if I wanted to play a match.”
Kranti’s journey hasn’t been devoid of challenges. An injury led to a two-year hiatus from playing divisional cricket. Though she later made it to the senior team, she would get playtime. However, her determination never wavered. She used this period to introspect and improve, which led to good returns in the recent domestic season, including taking four wickets in the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy final.
“This time in the pre-season practice, I was determined to give my 100 per cent and that would be seen by my coaches, which in turn would lead me to play more games. Keeping that in mind, I would do the same thing in the match that I wanted to do.”
“Once I got the feeling of playing matches, I just had to give my 100 per cent. This time, the one-day tournament was very good, and I got wickets in all the matches, including all four scalps coming as bowled in the final. That moment of doing well for the team and helping them lift the trophy felt very good to me.
Amidst all the domestic action, Kranti and her teammates watched the proceedings with bated breath. Recalling the moment UP Warriorz picked her, Kranti said, ” As soon as UPW picked me, I was very happy and full of emotions. After I met my coach, my family started calling me.”
“My father was crying and said, ‘you have been selected; now you have to do well there’. My brother also called me, and said everyone was happy at home. Then I thought to myself that I am doing something good for my family. I have been playing for 4-5 years, and I knew that I would do something for my family. So I always thought of giving my 100% there.”
Kranti, who picked up fast bowling as she saw them operating all the time with the tennis ball, draws inspiration from Indian cricketers Pooja Vastrakar and Hardik Pandya, and is always keen to practice her skills and make significant strides in her cricketing career. Who knows, WPL 2025 could well be that catalyst for Kranti to come on the national team radar.
“When I used to play tennis-ball cricket, no one used to bowl spin, as everyone used to bowl medium pace. I became a medium-pace bowler only on seeing them. I didn’t even know that there was a bowler who used to bowl spin. I saw that someone was running with 20 steps to bowl with tennis ball, so I used to run with 20 steps as well and bowling fast.
“I feel happy when I am on the ground, and that’s it. I am always so excited. When I am at home for practice, I wait for 4pm to strike on clock, so that I would go to the ground and play. Even if I am late on leaving from home, I am never late for reaching the ground.
“Whenever I am at the ground, I think about batting, bowling, fielding – what more areas have to be focused on or what do I have to do in bowling? I am always excited for these things and that it’s always in my mind that I just have to go to the ground early,” she said.
–IANS
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