Feature on two Telugu speaking cricketers in Women’s World Cup
India’s Arundhati Reddy and Shree Charani reflect on their early struggles, family support, and unique journeys to cricket, as they gear up to represent India in the Women’s World Cup at home.
Hyderabad: India fast bowler Arundhati Reddy says the 2007 T20 World Cup that India won inspired her to start playing cricket, but it was the 2011 World Cup at home—with Sachin sir being part of it and everything that happened that year—that really left a mark on her.
“The kid inside me always wanted to play for India and win a World Cup for the country. Now that I have the chance to play a 50-overs World Cup at home, I am truly grateful to God for this opportunity. With two matches happening in Vizag, the support is very important. Hopefully, we will win,” Arundhati said in a chat with JioHotstar.
“I never wanted to be a fast bowler. I always wanted to be a wicketkeeper. On my first day at coach Ganesh sir’s academy, he asked me to bowl, and it all came naturally,” she said.
“A week later, I told my mom I didn’t want to keep bowling and wanted to be a wicketkeeper. She spoke to him, and he told her that if I wanted to be a keeper, I could find another academy, but if I stayed there, I would be a medium-pacer,” Arundhati said.
“That’s how my journey as a fast bowler began. Soon after, I was picked for Hyderabad under-19 and then senior-level cricket. It means a lot to me. There was a time in my career when I felt like I might never wear the India jersey again, and there were many questions about my future,” she said.
“But when I made my comeback and wore the jersey again, it felt really special,” the fast bowler said.
Meanwhile, India spinner Shree Charani from Andhra Pradesh recalled how her family reacted when she chose cricket.
“My mother accepted my decision to become a cricketer immediately, but my father took about a year to come around,” she said.
“My mother and uncle supported me from the very beginning, while my sister and father needed more time. My mother always had confidence that I would make it big in cricket,” Charani said.
“Once, when we went to a gold shop in Kadapa, the cashier asked about the kit bag I was carrying. My mom replied, ‘She plays cricket, and one day she will play for India.’ She was the first person who believed in me,” she said.
“Everyone dreams of playing for India and in a World Cup. I feel lucky to have this opportunity, and I will try my best to do well for the team and for India,” Charani said.
“Since childhood, I played cricket with my friends. I was around six when my dad sent me to a badminton academy. After seeing me run, my PT sir advised me to also play kho-kho and participate in athletics,” she said.
“I did that for two years along with cricket. In my locality, kho-kho and athletics were played professionally, but cricket wasn’t. In 9th standard, I played district-level cricket, and by 10th, I asked my father to let me take up cricket seriously,” Charani said.
“It took him a year to be convinced, and then COVID-19 disrupted two crucial years of my career. In my village, we played on turf where if the ball went out of bounds, it was considered out. Back then, I was a medium-pacer, but I wasn’t very effective, batters rarely got out,” she said.
“That’s when I decided to become a spinner. Once I started bowling spin, I began picking wickets consistently because batters struggled against my deliveries. That’s how my journey as a spinner began,” Charani said.
