Jasia Akhtar Height, Age, Family, Biography & MoreCelebrityStats.com

Some Lesser Known Facts About Jasia Akhtar

Jasia Akhtar is an Indian cricketer who is known for being the first woman cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to be picked by Delhi Capitals for the Women’s Premier League (WPL) to be held in 2023.

She liked playing cricket since childhood. In an interview, her cousin said that when they used to study, Jasia played cricket. She held a bat for the first time at the age of eight when she was playing with her cousins.

As a teenager, she would bunk classes and secretly go to play matches. Her father would often scold her, but she did not hesitate to tell him about her love for the game. In an interview, she said that the first bat she played with was handmade by her father, but he did not give her the bat because he was afraid that she would get hurt while playing, but Jasia would hide the bat in her kurta and go to play with the boys in her village.

When she was in school, she was trained by Murtuza Bashir, and she participated in many National Level events between the age groups of 17 and 19 in different sports including Cricket, Softball and Kabaddi in the National School Games held under the School Games Federation of India. She was selected by the PT Usha Academy in Pahalgam during trials. She was an athlete before one of her instructors introduced her to cricket. Later, she decided to play cricket professionally.
Jasia Akhtar posing with her awards

In 2005, she won a gold medal in the cricket U-19 girls tournament held in Bhopal. In an interview, she said that it was the first gold medal for Jammu and Kashmir in cricket at the school national.

When she grew up, she used to save her pocket money to travel from Shopian to Srinagar and back to practice at the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association facility which cost her a trip of Rs. 250. She even started taking tuition to earn money and helped her father with the labour work. In an interview, she said that in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association, basic equipment, including bats, balls, gloves and helmets, was not available and there were no coaches, so she used to copy the playing style of the national players she had seen on television.
Jasia Akhtar helping her father to make their house

Her neighbours did not like her playing cricket and told her family to teach her household chores instead of sending her out to play cricket. But she received full support from her family and did not stop playing. When she was in class eight, in 2004, some militants attacked her home and told her family to stop her sporting activities after which she stopped playing. She started playing again after six years. In an interview, she said that she wanted to open a foundation for female cricketers in Kashmir so that they didn’t face problems as she did.

In 2012, she was selected for the All India North Zone team to represent Jammu and Kashmir and in 2013, she represented Punjab.

In 2013, when she turned 18 and she moved to Punjab, she realized that she needed to work really hard to achieve something, so she followed in the footsteps of her favourite players Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur.

She used to practise a lot when she was in Punjab and after seeing her hard work, her coach, Ranjeet Singh advised her to join the university so that she got a chance to play for the state.

In 2013, after she joined Guru Nanak Dev University, she went to play a district-level cricket event in which she smashed 206 runs and in the second match, she scored 65 runs. The cricket officials of Punjab and selectors selected her for the national camp after seeing her performance and then for the Punjab state cricket team. While she was part of the Punjab team, she played around 40 matches including one day and T20 and was a top performer for the team. In an interview, she talked about the changes she faced when she moved from Kashmir to Punjab and said,

The transition from Kashmir to Punjab was difficult. The language was different. The culture was new. But eventually, Punjab became home to me. Punjab and Rajasthan have given me so much love that I can’t express it in words.”

In an interview, she said that when she went back home, she used to take a 12-hour bus journey from Amritsar to Shopian and would not eat anything because the ticket fare was Rs. 1500 and she would not have much money left with her.

In 2014, she became the only woman cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to play in Bangladesh and became the highest scorer of the tournament. She played in Dhaka Cricket League for Rupali Bank. Initially, she did not agree to play, but when her coach told he that she would be given dollar 3000 per match, she immediately agreed. She played 10 matches and reached the finals, but lost to the Muhammedan club. In 2022, she played for the Mohammedan Sporting Club in the same tournament.

In September 2017, she was called for the national camp for the India women’s national cricket team but was not part of the playing squad. She became the first woman cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to be selected for a national camp.

In 2019, she was part of the Trailblazers team for the Women’s IPL. In the tournament, she smashed 273 runs in seven matches and emerged as the tournament’s second-highest run-getter with 125 runs.

In 2018, she was selected for the India Red women’s team for the Women’s Challenger Trophy One-Day Tournament-2019.

In the 2021 senior Women’s One Day tournament, she smashed 501 runs in nine matches including two centuries and a fifty and received the highest score of 155. She emerged as the highest run-getter of the tournament.

According to her brother, whenever Jasia visits home, she gives jerseys to the young boys and girls of the village.

In an interview, Jasia said that one of her most memorable memory was when India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur gave her a bat after she made 39 runs on 25 balls against Punjab.

On 13 February 2023, she was bought by Delhi Capitals (DC) for Rs. 20 lakhs in the Women’s Premier League (WPL). Initially, the amount was Rs. 10 Lakh, but it was changed to Rs.20 lakh. In an interview, she talked about her selection and said,

I got a call from my brother after I switched on my phone and he told me that I had been picked by Delhi Capitals. I didn’t believe him, but then I spoke with my parents and they were very excited. I felt proud after being taken by such a big franchise. I am excited to play with Meg Lanning and Marizanne Kapp.”

In 2023, she attended a special session arranged by the Aadishakti Women Foundation in collaboration with the Marwadi International Federation for the Under-19 women cricketers of Rajasthan, where she motivated them to never give up on their dream and work hard.