India pacer Meghna Singh carries family’s hopes, from Bijnor to New Zealand

Meghna’s family is praying for her success, not least because their fortunes — and hopes for a better life — are undeniably linked to her it.

Miles away from her home in Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh, India pacer Meghna Singh will carry her family’s hopes when she takes the field at the ongoing World Cup in New Zealand.

In her debut international match against Australia last year, Meghna finished with figures of 6-0-27-0.  (Getty Images)

Meghna’s family is praying for her success, not least because their fortunes — and hopes for a better life — are undeniably linked to it. They include her grandfather Prem Pal Singh, 70, a retired sub-inspector with UP Police and grandmother Asha Thakur, as well as father Vijay Veer Singh, a security guard and mother Reena Singh, an accredited social health activist (ASHA), and three younger sisters.

“Even during the series against New Zealand preceding the World Cup, we all woke up at odd hours to watch every match,” Reena said. “We hope to see her bowling alongside Jhulan Goswami in the opening match against Pakistan on Sunday."

“We never thought she will play the World Cup, but today we are proud to see her donning the India jersey. A lot will change in terms of respect, money and status if Meghna does well in New Zealand and India win the World Cup,” she added.

NIS coach Lakshyaraj Tyagi, who taught Meghna the finer points of the game at the Nehru Stadium in Bijnor, too, is excited at the prospect of his prodigy doing well on the seam-friendly tracks of New Zealand, as he feels that bowlers’ ability to swing the ball away from right-handers would be quite interesting to watch.

“Meghna is going to be a tough nut to crack due to her ability to fox the right-hand batters with her swing,” Tyagi said. “She was a key component of the Indian attack during the T20Is against Australia in September.”

“She (Meghna) is a natural talent and a strong prospect for India’s playing XI in the World Cup. The way she bowled in the Test in Australia alongside Pooja Vastrakar and Jhulan Goswami was great. I am sure Meghna must have learnt many things from Jhulan then,” said the coach.

“Her passion for the sport was amazing when she came to me for the first time in 2007 along with her father. She would come to the stadium daily in both sessions without a break. In fact, I was surprised (when I saw) Meghna’s style of gripping the red cherry for the first time. Though her early deliveries at the nets were wayward due to prodigious swing, soon she was on target. On the first day of training, batters were hardly able to play the ball,” added Tyagi.

She put in a solid performance in domestic cricket in the pre-Covid year and there was an equally good showing for India A against Sri Lanka. At one time, Meghna used to travel 23 kilometres from her residence at Kasba Kotwali to Bijnor daily with her father.

In her debut international match against Australia last year, Meghna finished with figures of 6-0-27-0, which considering the power-packed Australian unit she was facing, was an achievement in itself. In the second game, she sent down nine overs, accounted for one batter and only conceded 38 runs. Her biggest splash, though, was reserved for the pink-ball Test — an encounter where she swung the ball prodigiously and caused Australia all sorts of problems.

“She bowls a good length and that entices batters to go for strokes, they ordinarily wouldn’t. Besides this, she is a useful batter, who can hold together an innings in the lower order and can increase the tempo too. Her performances in the Senior Women’s One Day Challenger Trophy were examples of this,” said Tyagi, who has produced a number of Ranji Trophy cricketers for the state.

What works in Meghna’s favour is that she has always been a keen learner. “Sometimes, she becomes almost unplayable, especially when she pitches the ball on middle-leg on the good length spot. That’s the best delivery in her kitty.”