Chandigarh: Sunday turned out to be special for G Kamalini, a 16-year-old allrounder from Tamil Nadu. First, it was her India U-19 debut against Pakistan in Kuala Lumpur, in the U-19 Women’s Asia Cup. Then came the Women’s Premier League (WPL) mini-auction in Bengaluru, and she was primed to be lapped up due to her stupendous domestic season.
The left-handed opener hit an unbeaten 29-ball 44 to set up India’s nine-wicket triumph in Malaysia, which was followed by Mumbai Indians (MI) buying the uncapped player for ₹1.6 crore at the WPL player auction, making her the youngest crorepati in the women’s league.
Twenty days ago, 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi from Bihar, became the youngest to sign an IPL contract, after Rajasthan Royals bought him at the player auction.
From a base price of ₹10 lakh, Kamalini attracted intense competition between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians with MI ultimately winning the bid.
The franchises were keen to bag the TN allrounder since she became the second highest run-scorer in the U-19 Women’s T20 Trophy, aggregating 311 runs in eight matches to guide Tamil Nadu to victory a few months ago. The power-hitter batter struck 10 sixes in the tournament.
“First wearing the Indian jersey and making the U-19 debut and then getting my favourite WPL franchise bidding to get me in the team for WPL is dream coming true. Though I did not play that well against Pakistan and could have done better, I will be better prepared in the next game. Playing under Harmanpreet Kaur (MI skipper) with Jhulan Goswami as mentor would be a phenomenal experience,” said Kamalini, whose inspiration is Domnic Kishore, who plays division cricket in the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) league.
It was after watching her brother practice in the nets installed at their home in 2020 that young Kamalini was introduced to the game. Before that she was a state skating champion with no inclination towards cricket.
“Seeing my brother play in the nets, I also started playing. My father then enrolled me in a local cricket academy and skating took a back seat. At 14, I was selected in the TNCA girl’s U-15 state team, and when I scored three hundreds in the tournament, I was noticed. And the current season has been good,” said Kamalini, who was also in the TN U-23 and senior teams.
Kamalini, who also keeps wicket, displayed her prowess in the U-19 tri-series final against South Africa, scoring 79 for India ‘B’. This knock earned her a place for the first-ever U-19 Asia Cup in Malaysia.
The U-19 World Cup is scheduled next year and Kamalini is likely to represent defending champions India in the tournament to be played in Malaysia.
“Things have not come easy. My parents have worked hard for me and my brother’s cricketer careers. A few months ago, we shifted from Madurai to Chennai for cricket. It was tough for us to commute from Madurai to Chennai regularly for cricket,” shared Kamalini, speaking from Kuala Lumpur. Her father Gunalan, who owns a transport business, was a club-level player.
“My father was really emotional after he got to know about MI buying me. He was crying and could not talk. It is a very special day for our family. Playing for India is my dream,” said Kamalini, who idolises West Indies great Chris Gayle.
