Meet Renuka Singh; Fast Bowler From Himanchal Picked For Indian Women Cricket Team's Australia Tour

Renuka Singh, a 25-year-old fast bowler from Himanchal Pradesh has been selected for Indian women's T20I cricket squad for the three match series in the Australia tour of next month.

Singh belongs to a village named Parsa near Rohru town in the state. While talking to the Indian Express, Singh said, "It’s an emotional day for me and I cannot describe the feeling of being selected. My father loved cricket like anything and had named my elder brother Vinod after his favourite cricketer Vinod Kambli.

"While I was too young when my father died, maybe it was his passion and guidance which saw me playing cricket at our village. I am sure he will be cheering from the heavens when I board the flight to Australia and get a chance to don the Indian jersey."

Her father reportedly worked at Himanchal Pradesh Irrigation and Public Health department at Rohru before he died in 1999. After that Singh's mother Sunita became the breadwinner for the family.

Renuka Singh's Cricket Journey:

The cricketer started her sports journey when she got herself enrolled at Himanchal Pradesh Cricket Association's women's residential academy in Dharmshala in 2009. This was encouraged by Singh's uncle Bhupender Singh Thakur, as per the report.

At the academy, Singh trained under coach Pawan Sen and Veena Pandey. Renuka Singh played in the Himanchal Pradesh' U-16 and U-19 teams. She was then selected for Board of Cricket Control In India's (BCCI) women's one-day match in 2019. Singh took 23 wickets in that match. It was the maximum wickets taken in the match by any bowler.

Renuka Singh went on to play for India A women's team for its Australia tour and also got selected for the team's matches against Bangladesh, Thailand and India B. She took three wickets in four matches.

According to her coach, Pawan Sen, the bowler scored a hat-trick with wickets in 2016 in the U-19 Himanchal team's match against Karnataka and that motivated her.

Even in 2020, Renuka Singh picked nine wickets in the BCCI Senior Women's one day trophy match in March. Her coach is hopeful for her performance in Australia tour next month.

She is a fan of cricketer Zaheer Khan and Punjab cricketer Harpreet Dhillon

Apart from Singh, Harleen Deol of Mohali has also been selected for the Indian women's T20 cricket team.