Ashwani Kumari

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ashwani Kumari

• Ashwani Kumari is an Indian cricketer who is regarded as one of the most talented all-rounders in Indian domestic cricket. She has played many useful innings for Jharkhand and East Zone teams. She was selected by Gujarat Giants in the 2023 Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction.

• She liked cricket from her childhood and asked her mother to buy her a plastic bat and ball whenever any toy seller came to her neighbourhood.

• She started playing cricket at the age of 12 nearby her house with boys from her neighbourhood.

• She made up her mind to become a professional cricketer after watching the 2013 Women’s World Cup.

• Since she belonged to a middle-class family, she could not afford cricket kits during her initial days. She started training under the coach Kajal Das in the Ghorabandha area nearby her house and used to borrow kits from the boys to play in the tournaments.

  

• She later moved to Shaheed Nirmal Mahato Stadium in Jamshedpur.

• She was selected for the Under-19 team of Jharkhand; however, she did not get any chance to play for the team.

• Then, she started training under the coach of the Jharkhand state team, Umesh, who encouraged her to work on her batting as well. Earlier, she was primarily a fast bowler. He later started sending her as an opener in matches, which was a turnaround moment for her career.

  

• She performed exceptionally well in the two matches of the Senior Women’s T20 Championship. In one match, she scored 84 runs off 50 balls, and in another match, she scored 95 runs off 55 balls.

• Her performance was recognised by the selectors who chose her for East Zone. She scored 65 runs in a match against Central Zone in a quickfire manner.

• She has played many matches for the India D team and Jharkhand State Cricket Association.

  

• She played in the 2021 Challengers Trophy.

• In the 2022 BYJU’S Jharkhand Women’s T20 Trophy, she played for Dumka Daisies Women.

  

• In the 2023 auction of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), she was acquired by the Gujarat Giants team. Her base price was Rs10 lakhs; however, she went for Rs35 lakhs.

• Her favourite cricketers are Australian cricketer Allyse Perry and Indian cricketers Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami.

• She is a devotee of Lord Shiva.

  

• Ashwani was acquired by Delhi Capitals in the 2024 Women’s Premier League auction, held in Mumbai on 9 December 2023, for a fee of Rs. 10 lakh.