Who is Vaishnavi Sharma? 20-year-old spinner making her debut for India in 1st T20I vs Sri Lanka
20-year-old Vaishnavi Sharma made her debut for the Indian women's team in the first T20I of the five-match series against Sri Lanka at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
Spinner Vaishnavi Sharma made her debut as the Indian women's cricket team locked horns with Sri Lanka in the 1st T20I of the ongoing five-match T20I series at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. Vaishnavi, a rising star from Madhya Pradesh, earned her maiden call-up in the national team after her impressive show for the India U19 in the Women's U19 T20 World Cup earlier this year.
Vaishnavi was handed a maiden national call-up for the T20I series against Sri Lanka, along with G Kamalini, who was also part of the India women's U19 team that lifted the T20 World Cup trophy. Both players were among the standout performers for India U19 in the tournament.
20-year-old Vaishnavi was handed her maiden T20I cap by Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur ahead of the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Vizag on Sunday. She is the third spinner in India's playing XI for the game alongside all-rounder Deepti Sharma and left-arm spinner Shree Charani.
Who is Vaishnavi Sharma?
20-year-old Vaishnavi Sharma is a left-arm spinner who hails from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. She was part of the Indian women's U19 team in the Women's U19 T20 World Cup this year. The left-arm spinner finished the tournament as the leading wicket-taker with 17 wickets to help India lift the trophy.
Vaishnavi represents Madhya Pradesh in the women's domestic circuit and has been a consistent performer for the team this year. She bagged 21 wickets in the Senior Women's T20 Trophy and took 12 wickets in five matches in the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal T20s, where she was the highest wicket-taker.
She is considered one of the brightest spin prospects in the Indian women's cricket at present after Charani, who played an instrumental role in helping India lift their maiden Women's ODI World Cup title earlier this year. The 20-year-old would be hoping to grab her chance and do well for the hosts in her debut game against Sri Lanka in Vizag.
India won the toss and opted to bowl first in the first T20I against Sri Lanka. Harmanpreet & Co. will be aiming to kick-start the five-match series with a victory to go 1-0 up.