WPL 2025: The first ball I hit for a boundary was exciting, says G Kamalini after MI debut
Vadodara, Feb 19 (IANS) After becoming the youngest debutant in the history of Women’s Premier League (WPL) by playing for Mumbai Indians against Gujarat Giants, G Kamalini said the first ball she hit for a boundary in the successful chase of 120 turned out to be exciting for her.
At 16 years and 213 days, Kamalini not only became the youngest WPL player – she also becomes the youngest player ever to feature for Mumbai Indians across all its five franchise T20 teams in the world.
On her first ball, Kamalini, who won the U19 Women’s T20 World Cup with the Indian team last month in Malaysia, got off the mark with a well-timed cut off leg-spinner Priya Mishra to pick a boundary with ease.
“I was really nervous, but it was one of the most memorable days of my life. I felt really happy. I put in a lot of hard work and I was waiting for the chance, so I am happy that I was given the opportunity. When I went to the crease, it was an enjoyable time with Sajana akka (older sister in Tamil). Then I wasn’t nervous at all. While fielding I get nervous, but while batting I didn’t get nervous at all. The first ball I hit for a boundary was exciting – the first boundary of my WPL career,” said Kamalini in a release issued by the franchise on Wednesday.
Her batting partner at the other end, Sajana Sajeevan, who eventually finished off the chase with a lofted four, also gave an insight on Kamalini’s short yet delightful time at the crease and the advice she gave to the teenager. “After Nat’s (Nat Sciver-Brunt) dismissal, Kamalini was walking in. The first conversation we had, she told me she was scared and worried about playing.”
“I told her not to worry, and utilize the opportunity that not many people had played with her until then. Only Hemalatha could have told the others about her skills, but apparently even Hemalatha didn’t know too much about her abilities. I told her to just hit hard if she got the ball in her slot, otherwise we could have rotated and scored singles and finished the game with ease.
“The conversation was very light. I am happy that she scored a boundary in her first ball. We enjoyed each other’s batting because we had such a fun conversation in the middle. When she scored that boundary, she started clapping herself. She is very funny,” she elaborated.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Mumbai Indians finished off their Vadodara leg of WPL 2025 with a win over the Gujarat Giants by five wickets and get its first points of this season. They will now head to Bengaluru and face Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.
–IANS
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