Jharkhand's wicketkeeper-batter Indrani Roy is excited for getting her maiden national call-up for India's tour of England next month.
The Indian women’s team was announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday night.
The opening batter has been picked for the Test, ODIs and T20s.
The 23-year-old from Bengal, plays domestic cricket for Jharkhand. "I am happy and excited to be selected in the national team. It's a pride and I will try to do my best," she said.
Speaking on phone from her residence in Howrah, Indrani said she was expecting a call-up as she had performance to back her claims. "Though I was keeping my fingers crossed, there was a gut feeling that I would be picked. I think my performance turned the tides in my favour," she added.
The swashbuckling batter was the leading run-getter in the recently concluded senior women’s one-day tournament. She stamped her authority in the domestic circuit with this prolific performance. She amassed 456 runs in eight matches, including two unbeaten centuries. Her contribution with the bat powered Jharkhand to the finals of the tournament.
Indrani was picked up in the Bengal U-19 team in 2014 and that year they were the champions. She played for four years till 2017 and then moved to Jharkhand for better opportunities. She plays Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) inter-district tournaments for Bokaro.
While playing for Jharkhand, Indrani was picked up to play the U-23 Challenger Trophy. And, in 2018 and 2019, she played for India Blue and India C, respectively. The talented cricketer had an opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the best players in the country.
Indrani praised the JSCA for promoting women’s cricket in the state.
"The kind of facilities and match practice provided by the state association is very good. In addition, we have many local tournaments, in which players from 12 districts feature. There are inter-district tournaments that help to find local talent. Apart from that, we have the JPL (Jharkhand Premier League), which garnered popularity in its very first year itself.
Just before the start of the senior women’s one-day tournament we had the JPL. The tournament helped the girls to build confidence going into the BCCI affiliated competition. In my case too, I played nine matches out of which I was the player of the match in eight of them. I owe my recent success to JPL,” Indrani signed off.
India will play one Test, three ODI’s and as many T20s during the tour of England. The Test and ODI squad will be captained by Mithali Raj while Harmanpreet Kaur will lead in the T20 format.
