Soumya Tiwari

Some Lesser Known Facts About Soumya Tiwari

• Soumya Tiwari is an Indian cricketer. She plays for the Indian women’s U-19 team as a batting all-rounder. She was a part of the Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup 2023 winning Indian U-19 women’s squad.

• She grew up in a middle-class family in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

• Soumya’s father used to play local division cricket in his younger days.

• Fascinated with the sport, Soumya started playing cricket with a thaapi thapki (wooden stick used to wash clothes under a tap) and paper balls when she was too young.

• Growing up in a joint family in Shahjahanabad, Old Bhopal, Soumya often watched cricket on television with her sister.

• Soon, her father bought her a plastic bat with which she started playing mohalla cricket with the boys in her locality.

• In an interview, Soumya’s father revealed that when the boys in her locality refused to take her in their teams, she would often go back home, complaining about it to her father.

• A few years later, her family shifted to Gautam Nagar, New Bhopal, where Soumya began playing cricket at a ground.

• Looking at her interest in the sport, Soumya’s sister decided to enroll her at the Arera Cricket Academy at Old Campion ground in Bhopal when she was 11 years old. However, the coach of the academy Suresh Chainani, who was not happy with girls leaving their training in between, refused to train her. However, Soumya was adamant that she wanted to join the academy and thus, went to the academy again with her sister, requesting the coach to give her cricket coaching. After much persuasion, the coach agreed to train Soumya during the summer break. Initially, the coach focused on improving her bowling and later trained her at batting.

• Meanwhile, the academy organized an inter-club match, where Soumya got the opportunity to display her cricketing skills. She played the match with great enthusiasm, making two dismissals in the game.

• She trained at the academy with boys for around three years and one day caught the eyes of the state selectors, who chose her for the Madhya Pradesh women’s team. Soumya was 13 years old at that time.

  

• Soon, she attended the trials conducted by Bhopal’s senior division and was selected for Madhya Pradesh’s U19 women’s team.

• She played her first domestic cricket tournament in Gwalior.

• Subsequently, she got the opportunity to captain the U-16 Madhya Pradesh women’s team. later, she went on to captain Madhya Pradesh U19 team in the ZCA and Challenger Trophy matches.

• In 2020-2021, Soumya represented Madhya Pradesh Women in the Senior Challenger tournament.

• In 2022, she played for the Madhya Pradesh U19 Women’s team in the T20 domestic tournament. The tournament was won by her team.

• In 2022, Soumya became a part of India A women’s squad that played the quadrangular series, featuring India B, West Indies, and Sri Lanka. She was the only player from Madhya Pradesh to make it to the tournament.

• Later, she was made the vice-captain of the Indian U19 squad that represented India at the inaugural Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup. Soumya scored 28 runs in 15 balls in a match against Sri Lanka during the World Cup. In the semi-finals against New Zealand, Soumya played 22 runs. In the finals, India played against England, chasing a target of 69 runs. Soumya scored 24 runs off 37 balls, hitting the winning runs for India. She played a partnership of 46 runs with Gongadi Trisha.

  

• Soumya is a huge fan of the Indian cricketers Virat Kohli and Smriti Mandhana. She has several posters of Virat in her room. She admires Kohli so much that her teammates often address her as ‘Apni Virat’ and ‘VK.’ ^[2]Aaj Tak

• Soumya loves to do sketching and painting whenever she is free. She also loves writing and has maintained a personal journal in which she notes down minute details about the things she does on the cricket field.

• Soumya Tiwari won Madhya Pradesh’s Best Female Cricketer Award in 2022.

  

• A fitness enthusiast, Soumya regularly works out at her home gym. She has made it a habit to work out for around 40 minutes before going to the field to play.

• In an interview, while revealing an old incident, Soumya’s coach Suresh Chainani said,
  

  We were playing an inter-club tournament and Soumya was the only girl in our team. We batted first and after the first innings, the organiser told us that the girl cannot play in the tournament. I protested as they had allowed on the first hand but refused after our batting as Soumya had made a name for herself as a spinner in the local circuit. She came to me and told me that she will sit out as her team should not be disqualified and they should win. We won the match but her team spirit told us about her love for winning.”