CRICKET | Shree Charani looking forward to playing with the legends on the Indian team

Shree Charani of Delhi Capitals bowling during final of the Women’s Premier League 2025 (WPL) against Mumbai Indians at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, India on the 15th March 2025.
| Photo Credit: Sportzpics/WPL

Nallapureddy Shree Charani burst onto the Women’s Premier League scene as a relatively unknown entity roped in by Delhi Capitals. In two games — against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Mumbai Indians (in the final) — Charani’s ability to control the run flow and attack batters in crucial phases made heads turn.

She continued in the same vein in the recently concluded Senior Women’s Multi-Day Challenger Trophy in Dehradun, finishing with nine wickets from three games. This was enough to earn a call-up to the Indian senior side for the Women’s Tri-Nation ODI tournament against Sri Lanka and South Africa later this month.

“I was feeling proud at getting the call-up. I am looking forward to playing with Harman (skipper Harmanpreet Kaur) di, Smriti (Mandhana) di, Jemi (Jemimah Rodrigues) di. They are legends,” the pacer-turned-left-arm spinner told The Hindu.

Delhi Capitals’ Shree Charani during a training session ahead of the Women’s Premier League 2025 match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara, on 17th February 2025.
| Photo Credit:
Sportzpics/WPL

Being the first woman from the YSR-Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh to be selected for the Indian cricket team is no mean feat, and the 20-year-old received the news from India regulars Harleen Deol and Yastika Bhatia during the Multi-Day Challenger.

Charani’s father tried to enroll her in multiple sports, but she always found herself drawn to cricket.

“My dad first put me into badminton when I was in class six. I would play there, come home and immediately play cricket. Even when I played kho kho in school, I would go early to play cricket before going to play kho kho. I was constantly into cricket only.”

Shree Charani.
| Photo Credit:
Sportzpics/WPL

Charani’s uncle, Kishore Kumar Reddy, had a huge hand in her taking to the sport, often training for long hours with his niece.

“One constant coach for me from childhood, when I was around seven or eight years old, is my uncle, he was the reason I started playing cricket,” she stated.

Kishore has only one piece of advice for her. “I told her only one thing after she got the call-up. The most important thing is to make sure that India does not lose a match, how she plays and performs is up to her, but India should not lose a match.”