Himachal girls are making their presence felt in a big way in the Indian women cricket team. There were three of them in the Indian side that whitewashed the visiting West Indies in the three-match ODI series recently.

All-rounder Tanuja Kanwar made her debut in the series to join pace spearhead Renuka Thakur and batter Harleen Deol in the side. While having three players in the team in itself is a matter of huge pride for the state, the performance of the girls made the occasion even more special and memorable. While Renuka topped the bowling charts with 10 wickets in the series, Deol scored over 150 runs to finish as the top run-getter in the series. Thakur also walked away with the Player of the Series Award.

In the last one decade or so, four women cricketers from the state have made it to the national team. Sushma Verma, who was the first from the state to make it to the national women team about a decade back, is absolutely thrilled to see the Himachal girls doing so well. “I am absolutely delighted to see our girls winning matches for the team. A lot of effort has gone into promoting women cricket in the state. We are seeing the results of those efforts now,” said Sushma.

Sushma said Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) starting a residential cricket academy for girls about 15 years back proved to be the turning point for women cricket in the state. “Had the HPCA not opened this academy, we wouldn’t have seen women cricketers doing as well as they are doing today. It changed the life of so many girls,” said Sushma.

She further said that the role of cricket coach Pawan Sen in nurturing women cricketers had been as important as that of the academy. “When the academy started, he was the coach, physio, trainer and a parent to all young girls who had left their homes to get training at the academy. He’s largely responsible for the success women cricketers are tasting at the national and international level,” Sushma said. Sen has coached all four women cricketers who have played for India and many others who are doing well at the national level.

When contacted, Sen said the hard work put in by the girls was the reason behind their success. “Our girls are extremely hard working and talented. It’s rare to have three players from one state in the playing XI, but our girls did it. I am so proud them,” said Sen. “We have a few more girls doing really well at the national level. Hopefully, we will have a few more players from the state donning national colours in near future,” said Sen.