SL-W vs IND-W | 1st ODI Preview | SPOTLIGHT: POOJA VASTRAKAR

India has long been searching for a bowling all-rounder who can deliver some lusty blows in the death overs. The hunt ends with Shahdol’s (Madhya Pradesh) Pooja Vastrakar.

The 22-year-old dreamt of donning the Indian colours when she was just four. The youngest of the seven siblings, Vastrakar hails from a sport-loving family, but her journey has not been seamless.

From personal loss to multiple injuries, Pooja has battled it all. Losing her mother at the tender age of ten did set her back. But she gathered her courage to work on her goal of representing the national side. 

Starting as a batter, she took up bowling after being guided by former Indian cricketer Rekha Punekar. Now, she’s a promising young all-rounder, looking to fill in the big shoes of the legendary Jhulan Goswami.

At 15, she had to undergo ACL surgery for a severe ligament tear. She recovered from this career-threatening injury to make her Indian debut in 2018. However, she did not receive a long rope, with a niggle forcing her to warm the bench during the T20 World Cup 2020. And when the pandemic hit, Pooja was again down with a pulled hamstring.

However, since her comeback in 2021, Pooja has proved to be the X-factor the Indian squad needs. Spearheading the bowling attack in Jhulan’s absence, she delivers whenever the captain turns to her for wickets.

Her batting abilities came to the fore during India’s match against their arch-rivals Pakistan in ICC Women’s World Cup 2022. The team was reeling at 114/6 when she stitched a 122-run partnership with Sneh Rana. Her 67 pulled the team out of the doldrums and laid the foundation for a huge win.

Watch the young all-rounder in action on July 01 2022, against Sri Lanka in the first ODI. 

Match Details:

Match: Sri Lanka Women vs India Women, 1st ODI

Venue: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele

Date & Time: July 01, 2022, at 10:00 AM IST

Live Streaming: FanCode  

Squads

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), S Meghana, Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Simran Bahadur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol.

Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeevani, Oshadhi Ranasinghe, Sugandika Kumari, Inoka Ranaweera, Achini Kulasuriya, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Malsha Shehani, Ama Kanchana, Udeshika Prabodhani, Rashmi de Silva, Hansima Karunaratne, Kaushani Nuthyangana, Sathya Sandeepani, Tharika Sewwandi