From Self-Doubt to the WPL: The Making of Anushka Sharma

"The COVID-19 lockdown break came at the right time for me," says 22-year-old cricketer Anushka Sharma. At 17, after a lean Under-19 season, she doubted if she was good enough for professional cricket and contemplated quitting. The sport's seriousness hit her after her first string of failures.

A pivotal family conversation on their Gwalior rooftop in April 2020 changed her perspective. Her family concluded, "One bad year cannot decide if you are good enough or not. Give it some time."

Her cricket journey began at age four, bowling to her elder brother so he could bat for hours. Her father fueled her early passion, buying a plastic bat and crafting lightweight custom pads.

Serious cricket entered her life at 14 with a local Under-16 girls' trial, which she attended partly to skip school. She impressed selectors quickly, having honed her skills playing various sports with her brother and his friends. She was selected for Gwalior's Under-16 team and soon for Madhya Pradesh's zonal side, winning the best all-rounder award in the 2018-19 season.

By the next year, she captained the state Under-19 team. However, initial struggles at this higher level—her first real encounter with failure—sparked deep self-doubt. Coming from an academically focused family (her mother was a teacher, her father a newspaper editor, her brother an IIT Bombay graduate), her sports path felt like an anomaly.

"I was not able to score runs. I was more worried about the outcome… That evening I broke down," she recalls. Her family's reassurance helped her reframe her mindset: "I tried to simplify everything… My attempt was to do my best at what I'm doing."

She resumed her career, captaining the state and India B Under-19 teams to a championship win and progressing to senior Challengers tournaments.

A fan of Virat Kohli, she was inspired by his 2016 World T20 knock against Australia. "He set the benchmark for aspiring cricketers like us," she says, admiring his fitness, mindset, skills, consistency, determination, and grit.

In 2022, she moved to Shivpuri to train under coach Arun Singh, known for developing women cricketers. Her path wasn't smooth; a hand injury interrupted her senior One-Day tournament comeback. Seeking advice from statemate Rajat Patidar on scoring a century, she was told: "You have to set small targets, and start every ball as if you're batting on zero."

Returning to senior division matches, she struck a double century followed by another hundred. In the 2023-24 Under-23 season, she topped the run charts. Her training evolved, with extensive range-hitting developing her power game. These performances in the Madhya Pradesh Premier League caught the eye of WPL scouts, leading to her selection by Gujarat Giants.

Giants' head coach Michael Klinger had noted her talent but needed to test her temperament. In just the 26th ball of the Giants' 2026 WPL campaign, she was promoted to No. 3 due to a thin Indian batting reserve. After the early loss of Sophie Devine, and with skipper Ash Gardner struggling, Anushka anchored the innings.

Starting with 18 runs off 19 balls, she accelerated, displaying a wide range of strokes. She swept, pulled, and reverse-paddled veteran leggie S Asha for boundaries and took on international bowlers like Sophie Ecclestone and Deandra Dottin. Using the crease depth smartly and navigating field gaps, she showcased pressure absorption, game awareness, and skill.

She was dismissed for 48, looking for a six to reach fifty, but had laid the foundation for Gardner's 41-ball 65 and the Giants' eventual victory.

Hours after the match, Coach Klinger stated, "Anushka, I don't want to make a big statement… she's going to be playing for India. She's a fantastic cricketer… She can hit both through the field and over the field… She bowls really well… She's really good in the field… She trains really hard."

Her talent was widely recognized. "At the WPL auctions, three teams bid for her," Klinger noted. "People obviously know in India… that she's a high-quality young player."

Reflecting on her journey, Anushka says, "That lean phase taught me that the worst of times bring something good… It allowed me to switch off from cricket and look at it from a different perspective. I was grateful for that two-year break. It allowed me to grow as a cricketer."