Asha Sobhana Joy, the 32-year-old all-rounder from Kerala became the first Indian bowler to take a fifer in the two seasons of WPL. She achieved this feat in RCB’s first match in WPL 2024 against UP Warriorz and won the Player of the Match award. The franchise bought her for 10 lakhs in the auction last season, and she took five wickets in five matches at an economy of 8.35.
Inspiring Icons: Sachin Tendulkar and Neetu David’s Impact
Asha’s first introduction to cricket was Sachin Tendulkar’s ‘THAT’ innings in Sharjah. She saw Sachin go berserk against Australia, and she decided to become a cricketer. She saw Neetu David bowl in an international game on Doordarshan channel, and it was her first introduction to women’s cricket.
Meeting Shabina Jacob and a Life-Altering Bond
She went for her first district cricket trials without informing her parents at the age of 12. In the district games, she met the late Shabina Jacob, the former Kerala Women’s cricket team captain, and that was a turning point in Asha’s life. Shabina hailed Asha as the most promising youngster at the start of Asha’s career and later became her mentor. She became a motherly figure for Asha and took care of her in the initial days. She provided her with cricket equipment and even fed her every day.
Asha’s Transition from Pacer to Leg Spinner
She started as a pacer for Kerala at the age of 13. One fine evening, she was tired and was bowling leg spin. Her coach saw her and was so impressed that he persuaded her to become a leg spinner. She eventually became a leg spinner and made her debut for the senior Kerala team at the age of 14. At the age of 15, the Kerala Cricket Association sent her to train at the MAC Spin Foundation, where she met Terry Jenner, Shane Warne’s coach. He was impressed with her bowling and asked everyone else to bowl like her.
Rising Through the Ranks
She made it to South Zone’s team at the age of 16 and Challengers at the age of 19. She was part of the first-ever Under-19 camp in 2008. Asha was among the 20 probables picked by the selectors for the tour to West Indies but couldn’t make it to the final 16.
Asha’s Decade-Long Journey with the Team
Her stellar performance in the 2012–13 T20 season helped her get a place in the Railways side, and she played for Railways for more than a decade. She won the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy 2019 with Railways.
From Commentary Box to Captaincy
In 2022, she left the Railways team as she couldn’t find a regular place in the playing 11. She travelled to Puducherry to do commentary for a men’s T20 tournament and met Puducherry’s coach Shweta Mishra there.
Shweta was an India Under-19 teammate of Asha and asked her to play for Puducherry. From not finding a place in the playing 11, Asha suddenly became the captain of the Puducherry team in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy 2022. The team defeated Chandigarh, Saurashtra, and Mumbai. They lost the last league-stage game against Bengal and couldn’t qualify for the next stage.
She was the leading wicket-taker for Puducherry in the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy 2023 and picked 16 wickets in seven matches at an average of 11.62. She took a 4-fer and a 5-fer each.
Recognition from Cricketing Icons
Laxman Sivaramakrishnan coached her for free after seeing her performance last season in WPL. The Voice of Cricket Harsha Bhogle also lauded her performance and predicted that she might play for India soon. With a performance like this, an India call-up seems certainly on the horizon. Do you think her performance might help her receive an India call-up soon?
Also check: WPL 2024: Asha Sobhana in tears while receiving Player of the Match award
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