Kamalini Gunalan

Some Lesser Known Facts About Kamalini Gunalan

• Kamalini’s father also used to play cricket during his time and was a club-level player.

• Kamalini had her interest in inline skating before she started playing cricket at the age of 12.

• Kamalini used to watch her father and brother doing cricket practice in the nets at their home in 2020 when there was a nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19. From there, she developed an interest in cricket and joined them in practice. In an interview, her father said,
  

  I’d no idea she had interest in cricket. And nobody has taught her how to bowl. But she just did it in her first attempt, she had a knack,”

• Kamalini started playing cricket as a right hander but later switched to left hand as a batter, advised by her father who believed that it would give her an edge over her competitors. She can also bowl and write with both hands.

• At 14, Kamalini was selected in the TNCA girl’s U-15 state team.

• Kamalini considers Chris Gayle as his cricketing idol.

• Kamalini’s family shifted their base from Madurai to Chennai, where she and her brother joined the Super Kings Academy in 2022 and started training under coach Louis Mariano. Her father hired three net bowlers, an off-spinner, a left-arm spinner, and a throwdown specialist for Rs 2,250 per day to bowl to Kamalini in the academy.

• Kamalini scored 311 runs in eight matches and helped Tamil Nadu win the U19 domestic tournament in October 2023. This was followed by an inning of 79 runs in the final of the Under 19 Tri-series against South Africa A.

• In 2023, Kamalini’s father suffered a massive heart attack and kidney failure, following which he underwent open heart surgery. During this time, Kamalini was busy with her preparations for the Senior Women’s One-Day tournament.

• Kamalini finished the Senior Women’s One-Day tournament as the second-highest run-scorer, including a century.

• In December 2024, Kamalini made her India U-19 debut against Pakistan in Kuala Lumpur in the U-19 Women’s Asia Cup. She won the Player of the Match award for her unbeaten innings of 44 runs off 29 balls.

• Kamalini was bought by the Mumbai Indies women’s team for Rs. 1.6 crore in the 2024 WPL player auction.

• Kamalini was part of India’s squad, which won the Women’s U19 T20 World Cup in Malaysia in 2025.

  

• After winning the Women’s U19 T20 World Cup, Kamalini received a monetary award of Rs. 25 lakhs from the state government of Tamil Nadu, announced by M. K. Stalin.

• Kamalini became the youngest debutant in WPL history when she played in the tournament against the Gujarat Giants on 18 February 2025.