Meet Sonam Yadav: From Borrowing Shoes For Trials To Playing For MI

The second edition of Women's Premiere League is now its final leg and the audience has already picked sides. Among the five participating teams and around 55 players, left-arm spinner Sonam Yadav from Mumbai Indians is grabbing eyeballs. Sonam Yadav, who hails from Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, was the youngest player of WPL 2023 at the age of 15 years. The player has had an inspiring journey; she did not let her shortcomings stop her from achieving her goals. Her father is a daily wage labourer in the famous glass industry of Firozabad. She has spent her days in the narrow lanes of the bangle city of India and is now making her family and the city proud by making it to the final line of Mumbai Indians in WPL. Here's all you need to know about her inspiring journey.

Who Is Sonam Yadav?

Born on July 18, 2007, in the family of Mukesh Yadav and has a brother. A fan of Ravindra Jadeja, Yadav started playing cricket at the age of 10 and her father, despite her family’s hardships and financial condition, supported her dream. He reportedly took double shifts and even had her brother drop out of school and take up a private job to continue her training and matches. This was an empowering decision as people always prefer the son's needs above the daughter's dreams but, in this case, it was her brother who gave up his studies to keep her dream alive.

Yadav's family could not afford the expensive cricket gear and there was a time when she had to borrow shoes as she had nothing to wear at a tournament trial. Sonam Yadav was a part of Uttar Pradesh's state-level team and grabbed eyeballs for her performance as a left-handed bowler and right-handed batter. She was a part of the national women's U-19 cricket team in the first edition of the ICC Women's U-19 T20 World Cup and contributed significantly to the team's victory in the finals.

In the WPL auction, Sonam Yadav went to the Mumbai Indians team for Rs. 10 lakhs an amount that she claimed will help her family as it is a hundred times the amount her father earns. Her selection is a proud moment for her family and city and her story is a true example of how it is possible to achieve even the most distant dreams with determination and hard work.