CHENNAI: The Gunalan-Saranya household in Chennai was buzzing with phone calls early in the morning on Sunday. It was India’s first game at the ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup and their daughter Kamalini was set to take the field against West Indies in Malaysia around noon Indian time.
Not sure of timing, relatives from Madurai, and all over Tamil Nadu had been calling since wee hours thinking if they had missed the start of the match. “Since the Asia Cup matches started early, they thought the World Cup game was also at the same time,” Saranya told CE, beaming with pride.
“Many may not necessarily know cricket that intimately but everyone is following Kamalini. We watched it at home and are very happy to see our daughter in the World Cup,” she adds.
For the record, Kamalini scored a 13-ball 16 in the low-scoring tie as India kicked off their title defence with a nine-wicket win against West Indies. It is a continuation of the incredible couple of months Kamalini and her family has had. The road to this point — where Kamalini got a WPL contract with Mumbai Indians for Rs 1.6 crore before becoming the only Tamil Nadu player in the India team at the WC — has been a rather long one.
Five years ago, it was not on anyone’s mind, not even Kamalini’s. Back then, they were in Madurai where Gunalan would have a net for his son Kishore and he would give him throwdowns during school holidays. On one such evening during the Covid lockdown, the then 12-year-old Kamalini picked up the ball and wanted to bowl.
