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Chandigarh’s Parushi to don North Zone jersey after strong domestic season
Captaining Chandigarh U-19 women’s team and then standing out in the Chandigarh senior women’s team followed by securing a place in the North Zone women’s senior team for the inter-zonal matches, the 18-year-old left-handed batter has been on a roll
For Chandigarh cricketer Parushi Prabhakar, the ongoing domestic season has been phenomenal.
Captaining Chandigarh U-19 women’s team and then standing out in the Chandigarh senior women’s team followed by securing a place in the North Zone women’s senior team for the inter-zonal matches, the 18-year-old left-handed batter has been on a roll. Be it batting or bowling, the all-rounder has been showing off her prowess.
When asked which has been the most cherished moment of the season, the opener replied, “After scoring a quick half-century against Bengal in a league game during the T20 Senior Women’s Trophy, Jhulan Goswami came up to me and lauded my knock. It was a surreal experience, getting acknowledgement from a legend like her.” Post retirement Jhulan has been mentoring Mumbai Indians in the Women’s T20 Premier League (WPL) along with the Bengal state team. Even though Chandigarh could not win the match against Bengal, as an opener Parushi hogged the limelight by scoring a 34-ball knock of 64 runs against a formidable bowling attack.
A chinaman bowler, Parushi bagged 12 and six wickets in the U-19 one-day and T20 tournament, respectively. However, it was strange not to see her bowl in the senior women’s T20 tournament. “It was my debut in the senior team and there were more seasoned spinners in the team. I will wait for my chance. I hope to do well in the zonal matches in both batting and bowling,” added Parushi, who scored 220 runs in seven matches as an opener in the senior women’s tournament.
She was introduced to cricket by her father Vaneet Sharma an avid cricket fan who was amazed to see Harmanpreet Kaur score a legendary unbeaten knock of 171 runs against Australia in the 2017 World Cup.
Having played in the U-19 and senior Chandigarh teams, Parushi is expected to compete in the Women’s U-23 tournament as well. Playing in all three age groups will give Parushi a wide platform to showcase her all-around skills. With the WPL mini auction slated to take place on December 9 ahead of the WPL season 2, Parushi is keeping her fingers crossed. “WPL has changed the way women’s cricket is seen in India. I too want to play in India’s domestic T20 league and rub shoulders with the best cricketers. I am also chasing a dream to play for India one day. I will be working really hard to achieve that,” said Parushi, who was called upon by the Mumbai Indians team for trials in Mumbai recently.
