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The fast-bowling allrounder from rural Madhya Pradesh grabbed every cricketing opportunity that came her way and now finds herself heading to the WPL

S Sudarshanan13-Feb-2025Seven years ago at a women’s leather-ball cricket match in Ghuwara, a small town in Bundelkhand in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, one of the teams was a player short. Spotting a young girl wandering around with a stick in hand, they asked her if she would like to play. That 14-year-old had grown up playing tennis-ball cricket, and was crazy enough about it to risk a scolding, playing it even when her exams were on.But all she had played was tennis-ball cricket matches and tournaments with boys, much to the displeasure of her neighbours and those known to her family, who thought that a village girl was not meant to play cricket.That did not bother the teenager or her family. She grabbed that chance to play her first leather-ball game, starred with bat and ball and took home player-of-the-match honours.Kranti Goud, at age 21, is now a fast-bowling allrounder who has made her way to the UP Warriorz team for WPL 2025

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Goud was in Chandigarh for the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy, and she watched the WPL 2025 auction with her Madhya Pradesh team-mates. She had picked up 3 for 24 against Chhattisgarh the previous day, but had low expectations from the auction. She had been a net bowler with Mumbai Indians in 2024 and loved the environment of the WPL. Her name came up in the uncapped-players’ set, and much to her surprise, she was selected by Warriorz at her base price of Rs 10 lakh (approximately US$12,000).”When UP Warriorz picked me, I had tears in my eyes,” Goud says. “I called my family and spoke to my oldest brother, Mayank Singh.” She is the youngest of six siblings – three brothers and three sisters. ” He was watching the auction – he had been looking forward to it. At first he got very emotional, and we couldn’t speak. I called him again after a while; he started crying and even I couldn’t control myself.Goud led the Sagar Division Under-16 side to the final of an inter-divisional tournament conducted by the MPCA, where they were runners-up for the first time•Rajiv Bilthre”They say in the village that she is a girl, so don’t let her play cricket. But my brother did not listen to them, supported me fully. The family supported me. So that is why I am here.”My first thought after getting picked was that I had been doing well in the senior one-dayers, so I just wanted to continue the same in the WPL. I was also excited to meet the India players and play alongside them.”After that memorable first match with a leather ball, Goud travelled to Jatara, a town about 70km away in Tikamgarh district, for another match, where she did well again. There she was spotted by Rajiv Bilthre, the secretary of the Chhatarpur District Cricket Association (CDCA) and the coach of Sagar Division, who runs the Sai Cricket Academy.”She was agile, fast, and very athletic. I felt she could do well, so I asked her father to enrol her with me and leave her in Chhatarpur,” Bilthre says. “I told him I will make a good player of her. Her father said, ‘ [We are entrusting our daughter to you.] You have to shape her future.’ It is her effort and talent that has got her to where she is, by god’s grace. I did what I could. Her family was financially not well off, so I helped her a bit – kit, dress or bat – because these days you need good bats.”In India it is natural for youngsters to pick up a cricket bat; batters have long held sway in the public imagination – Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Mithali Raj, Virat Kohli, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana. How did Goud take to fast bowling then?”It just happened,” she laughs. “As I started playing with the tennis ball, I saw that everyone just ran in and bowled medium pace. I did not even know spin bowlers existed. Where are spinners in tennis-ball cricket anyway? My brother also told me to bowl medium pace, so I did that. After I joined [Bilthre’s] academy, I saw there weren’t many medium-pacers. I saw one, Sushma Vishwakarma, who became my friend. She also asked me to stick to fast bowling and there was no looking back.”Rajiv Bilthre (left), who coached Sagar Division in the MPCA, was the first to spot Goud’s talent•Rajiv BilthreAround the time India finished runners-up in the Women’s ODI World Cup final in 2017, the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association launched an Under-16 women’s tournament. Teams competed at the division level first. From there, a pool of talent was created for the state side. Satyam Tripathi, cricket operations manager at Sagar Division, which comprises the districts of Sagar, Chhatarpur, Damoh, Panna, Tikamgarh and Niwari, set out to make a women’s team with Bilthre’s help. They went to various schools to create awareness, contacted parents, and managed to get over 40 girls to the academy, from which 15 were selected for Sagar Division.”We conducted an inter-district U-16 tournament, in which Kranti played from Chhatarpur district,” Tripathi says. “She was their captain and gave all-round performances. We then made her the captain of Sagar Division, and we finished runners-up for the first time in the 2018-19 U-16 tournament that the MPCA conducted. Teams from Indore, Gwalior and Bhopal used to play more, so one-odd win in the tournament for Sagar Division was a big thing. Kranti helped our team finish runners-up – Bhopal were the champions – and her career kind of kickstarted there.”Goud always had the speed. Her lean figure allowed her to run in hard and bowl fast. The zip she generated in tennis-ball cricket often confounded batters. She moves the leather ball both ways at high speed, a skill she has developed over time and one that was on show in the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy final this season. She picked up 4 for 25 in the final, including the wicket of India wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, bowled through the gate. Madhya Pradesh won the trophy for the first time.”She had the speed [when she was younger], which was unlike most girls at the time,” Bilthre says. “She used to match the boys when she used to run. I felt she was extraordinary at that age. So we focused on her fitness and undertook some bowling drills. She is very hard-working: if she is on the ground for three hours, she will spend every minute on the ground and not laze around or chit-chat.”At CDCA as well as Sagar Division, Bilthre focused on having players with all-round skills. He recognised the need for multifaceted players and helped them develop. In Goud’s batting, he saw promise. She had the power and was nimble on her feet, which she used well against spin. He worked on her technique and taught her the importance of hitting in the V. Goud honed her batting skills with months of practice under methodical guidance from Bilthre. But she lacked one thing: patience.Bilthre on Goud inspiring young girls: “People believe if she can get to the state and WPL team from my academy, then even they should give it a shot”•Getty Images”Earlier, she wanted to hit every ball,” Bilthre says. “I asked her to work on her patience and made her meditate. During matches we asked her to look at us in the dugout after every ball and we used to tell her using gestures that she needed to bat calmly, patiently. Then she started to play according to what we said, and that became a habit for her. Until the batter develops such a mindset, they won’t bat well. Now it is an inherent skill – we need not tell her anymore how to play in what situation.”An example of this was seen in the U-23 Women’s One Day Trophy quarter-final last season. Against Bengal Goud walked in with MP 106 for 5 in the 35th over. She scored a restrained 42-ball 46 to help them to 182 for 9, a total that was not enough for a win. But it is a knock that Goud remembers proudly.”My [natural] instinct is to bat in a T20 template even in the one-day format. When I go to bat in a 50-over game, my team-mates hope that I don’t play some [weird] shot,” she says. “In the U-23 one-dayers [quarter-final] last year, my team was hoping I didn’t throw my wicket away since we had lost quick wickets. At that time, I thought I shouldn’t do something different, since we had a lot of overs left. I played the waiting game, but then hit the balls that were in the slot.” Offspinner Piyali Ghosh went for two sixes over cover, Goud’s favourite shot.To date, she and Bilthre talk before and after every game. The topics range from tactical and technical stuff to “motivational chats”. At Warriorz, Saima Thakor has been Goud’s go-to, helping her understand match simulation and bowling under different situations.Around the country, one of the effects of the WPL has been an increase in the number of girls joining formal training academies. Bilthre’s academy has also seen a similar influx and he attributes it to Goud’s rise. “There has been a difference after Kranti’s progress. She is a local; everyone knows her. So people believe if she can get to the state and WPL team from my academy, then even they should give it a shot.”Goud’s progress has shown that even girls in villages can, and absolutely should, play cricket.

The India fast bowler was one of the main reasons the fifth Test entered its final morning, and he put in a match-winning performance

Nagraj Gollapudi04-Aug-20253:04

Bangar hails ‘Herculean effort’ from Siraj

Mohammed Siraj is a massive Cristiano Ronaldo fan. His “siu” celebrations make that quite clear. So, on the final morning of the fifth Test against England, it was CR7 who was on Siraj’s mind after he woke up restless at 6am instead of the usual 8am.In a way, Siraj was responsible for the Test entering the final day; he had caught Harry Brook at long leg but stepped on the boundary to concede six on Sunday. Brook went on to score a century and have what seemed like a match-turning partnership with Joe Root. But Siraj was also responsible for the match being poised on a knife edge, delivering two long and amazing spells of fast bowling on tired legs with an old ball.So, with England needing 35 to win the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, and The Oval colosseum filling rapidly despite it being Monday morning, the gladiator in Siraj wanted to leave his mark. England had four wickets in hand, albeit one was Chris Woakes with arm in sling, but Siraj had belief.Related

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“I usually wake up at 8am, but today I woke up at 6am. I told myself I can do it today. I went on Google and searched for this image,” he said at the press conference after the match, raising his phone to show Ronaldo’s picture with “BELIEVE” written above it. “I downloaded the image, and made it the wallpaper. So belief is very important.”Belief is what allowed Siraj to bounce back from the mistake of reprieving Brook on 19. He said it was a “game-changing moment” when Brook got away and went into T20 mode to nearly take the Test away from India. But Siraj did not let that setback defeat him. “But I’m a senior bowler. I will not let my shoulder drop.”He told himself things happen, and moved on quickly. Shubman Gill, his captain, sitting next to him at the press conference after India’s win, quipped that if Siraj had held the catch, he could have saved everyone a lot of stress.”Also, if you had taken the catch, [I’m] thinking [it] would have been too easy for us,” Gill said as Siraj broke into a chuckle like the rest of the room.5:30

Gill on Oval win: ‘Makes you feel the journey is worth it’

Belief underpins the Siraj story, which started with a tennis ball in his late teenage years before he was spotted, nurtured and developed by former India quick and fast-bowling coach Bharat Arun. Combining belief with skill, Siraj has, along with Jasprit Bumrah, quickly grown into India’s most dependable fast-bowling duo in the longest format. For the second successive day, Siraj showed his sharp bowling intellect. He applied pressure from the first ball, delivering mostly outswingers, pitching on a good length and on the fifth- or sixth-stump line, and moving the ball away to challenge the England batters to take a risk.The batter’s problems were exacerbated by Siraj’s ability to cut the ball sharply into the pads with the wobble seam: to play him as a swing bowler, or a hit-the-deck bowler, which Siraj, in a chat with Dinesh Karthik on Sky Sports, said he was? He did not relent even for a minute until he had knocked back Gus Atkinson’s off stump with a 143kph yorker – just like he had hit Zak Crawley’s off stump with a similar ball to end play on day three.Siraj, who won the Player-of-the-Match award for his nine wickets at The Oval, bowled 185.3 overs in the series to finish as the leading wicket-taker with 23 wickets. After the win, Siraj bounced around the ground with the ball in hand, thanking the fans, and arrived at the press conference flashing a big smile. High on dopamine, he showed no trace of the toil he has had for the last two months.5:16

Harmison: Siraj never looked like running out of steam

“Body is fine right now because it is almost 187 overs,” Siraj said when asked whether he felt exhausted. “But [when] you play for the country, you give everything. Don’t think too much [whether] you bowl the sixth over or you bowl your ninth over. I don’t care. I believe you bowl every ball for your country, not for yourself. [When] you play for the country, give it everything. Rest doesn’t matter.”Siraj had coped with an extremely heavy workload during India’s previous five-Test series too – the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. India lost that series 3-1 despite Bumrah’s record-breaking numbers, as he took 32 wickets. But Siraj, who had bowled 157.1 overs in that series, the most for India, also took 20 wickets at an average of just over 31. Siraj said his role in Australia was different to that in England, where he was the leader of the attack with Bumrah playing only three of the five Tests.”In Australia, while Jassi [Bumrah] was performing, my only job was to bowl in partnerships and build pressure, and not try something else – because then there is a potential to leak runs, and that could build pressure on us,” he said. “As for my improvement, I always believe in my bowling that I can take a wicket in any situation. I don’t mind whether I am bowling the first spell or eighth. I just need to give 100%. I have never run after results. Rather [I’m] focused on the process of how to build pressure by bowling in partnerships.”3:04

Bangar hails ‘Herculean effort’ from Siraj

Siraj has been part of several memorable moments in Indian cricket. He was part of the team when Ajinkya Rahane’s India triumphed at the Gabba in 2020-21 to win the series in Australia 2-1. He felt this drawn series in England would be ranked slightly higher, though.”I will rate it higher because [of] the way we have fought throughout this series, with each Test going into the fifth day,” he said. “There was a lot of belief in this dressing room, and everyone believed this morning [that] we would win this match.”The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy has been a series full of unforgettable moments. Two of its defining images are of Siraj: one on his haunches at Lord’s after being bowled by Shoaib Bashir, and another of him covering his face in the fading light on an overcast Sunday at The Oval after letting Brook off.”I don’t know why I am in these moments,” he said. “At Lord’s, unfortunately, I couldn’t finish. But the almighty clearly had something good written for me in his mind, and that’s why I am here at this moment, and I could take the wickets in the end.”Siraj knows exactly why he is where he is – bowling India to one of their most famous victories, and their narrowest, by a margin of six runs.”Stay honest to your game,” he says. “Believe in yourself. Without belief, nothing can happen.”

Andrew Fidel Fernando joins our podcast crew to go down memory lane

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2025

They have had their moments in most games, but still find themselves at the bottom of the points table

Sruthi Ravindranath25-Oct-2025Almost. It’s the word that has defined Bangladesh’s campaign at the 2025 women’s ODI World Cup. They almost defended 178 against England. They almost beat South Africa but dropped catches under pressure. They almost chased down 203 against Sri Lanka.The what-ifs are many, but for a team playing only its second ODI World Cup, Bangladesh have punched above their weight. Yet, despite the fight, they find themselves at the bottom of the points table – even below winless Pakistan – level on number of wins with New Zealand and Sri Lanka, all three teams having split points because of washouts.The gulf between bat and ball has been evident throughout their campaign, and it surfaced once again against Sri Lanka. After their bowlers restricted Sri Lanka to 203, Bangladesh’s batters stumbled, dragging the chase deep but falling short in the final over. After that match, captain Nigar Sultana had admitted to her side’s struggles in crunch moments but refused to attribute their narrow losses to luck.Related

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“It’s really heartbreaking, definitely, because we came here to win,” she had said. “This kind of match, I think we played three games against England, South Africa and now Sri Lanka. I think we need to think about it and we have to learn so many things. [In] this kind of situation, [we should learn] how we should calm our nerves and how we should get runs. And definitely, the young players have been playing in the middle at crucial moments. So, I think they should learn.”It’s definitely our mistake. It’s not just one match; this is the third time it’s happened like this. I think we’re failing to finish properly in the final moments. We shouldn’t need to take it to the last over while chasing this kind of target. That’s our fault. Maybe there were some miscalculations, and we couldn’t use some bowlers properly in the middle overs.”Bangladesh’s batting has shown promise in patches – five different players have scored fifties, including Nigar’s fighting 77 against Sri Lanka – but frequent collapses and a glut of dot balls have proved costly. Their dot-ball percentage of 66.6 is the second-highest in the tournament, underlining their struggles.They began their campaign by comfortably chasing down 130 against Pakistan, but fell in a heap against England, New Zealand and Australia to post totals below 200. Against South Africa, Shorna Akter’s 35-ball 51 – the fastest half-century in women’s ODIs for Bangladesh – took them to 235, but they dropped several chances in the end to lose the match. Against England, they got their catching right, but the third umpire’s decision to reprieve Heather Knight proved costly in the end.There have been a few heartbreaks for Bangladesh at this World Cup•ICC/Getty ImagesOne of the factors behind the inconsistency has been their limited preparation. Since early 2024, the only top-ranked side Bangladesh have faced is Australia, back in March last year. Apart from the World Cup qualifiers in April, their build-up featured no international cricket, only domestic training camps. Nigar stressed the need for more exposure against top-ranked opposition. In the current FTP running from 2025-29 though, they are set to face India, Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand across formats.”The more competitive cricket you play, the sharper your skills get,” she said. “In ICC tournaments, we face new situations that we don’t often see in bilateral series, where we play the same opponents again and again. A stronger domestic setup or league system would help a lot. If we get to play more competitive games at home, our chances of losing tight matches will go down for sure.”But there have been other positives too, with their young bowling attack standing out. Fast bowler Marufa Akter, just 20, whose hooping deliveries troubled batters in the powerplay, has impressed many. Their spin department, led by veteran Fahima Khatun, has also shone through the performances of youngsters Rabeya Khan (20) and 18-year-old Shorna, who together have taken more wickets than Khatun. Against Sri Lanka, both youngsters were preferred over Khatun – a call that paid off, as they shared five wickets between them.”Among the eight teams in this World Cup, we’re the only one with three legspinners and all three are different types,” Khatun had said before the Sri Lanka match. “As a senior, I always try to collaborate with them and encourage them. They’re very young and crucial for our team. I often tell them, ‘You’re better than me; I have a lot to learn from you.’ Having three different kinds of legspinners is a big advantage for us.”Shorna Akter have been one of the standout players for Bangladesh in the tournament•ICC/Getty ImagesAt home, Bangladesh’s players feature in two main domestic tournaments, the Women’s Dhaka Premier League and the National Cricket League, both often played on spin-friendly, low-scoring pitches. On the eve of the India game, batter Sobhana Mostary acknowledged that while the level of competition can vary, the domestic structure is slowly improving.”Last ODI World Cup in 2022, only Pinky [Fargana Hoque] scored fifty but in this tournament, you can see around six or seven fifties,” she said. “So, I think that’s an improvement. Scoring a fifty is not easy; I also got my first fifty in this World Cup. If I can keep this consistency, it will help me in the next series. Similarly, [Sharmin Akhter] Supta has been performing well for a long time.”Now our domestic tournament is going good. In [Dhaka] Premier League among ten teams, six teams are good enough but four teams are like 50 – 50. Five years ago, two-three teams were good. But now five to six teams are good. Before, most players came from North Bengal, but now we have players from Chattogram and Sylhet as well. Maybe their parents are also watching the matches now. I think most people in Bangladesh are following this World Cup, which is a great inspiration for us. It motivates us to fight against stronger teams. That’s it, everyone is watching and supporting us, and that means a lot.”Bangladesh are yet to see one of their players feature in either the WBBL or WPL. Mostary hopes that changes soon.”In WPL, every time we send our name, they are not [okay to] pick a Bangladeshi. But we are thinking about this tournament – like Marufa [is] doing very good in Indian conditions. And Rabeya is also very bowling good this tournament. So maybe in the upcoming WPL they are [picked].”Bangladesh will leave the tournament with more heartbreaks than wins, but also with signs of growth. Among bottom-ranked sides, few have shown as much promise, or left as many almosts behind.

Western Australia quick only bowled for the first time on Tuesday since his shoulder surgery in January

Alex Malcolm14-Aug-2025Jhye Richardson’s hopes of playing any part in the Ashes appear slim after he only bowled for the first time since his most recent shoulder surgery on Tuesday, but he remains optimistic with the start of the Sheffield Shield season just seven weeks away.Richardson, 28, underwent a third surgery on his right bowling shoulder in January in a bid to end the repeated dislocations he was suffering and also put himself in the frame to be fully fit for the Ashes series which starts on November 21.He has not played Test cricket since the last Ashes series in Australia when he took his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests to seal victory in Adelaide. He has had a torrid run with injury since then, including having hamstring surgery in 2024, and has also dealt with mental health issues. He has played just four first-class matches since his last Test, with his his most recent coming in November last year when he dislocated his shoulder while high-fiving a team-mate.Related

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Speaking in Perth on Wednesday at an event to mark 100 days to go before the Perth Ashes Test, Richardson revealed he bowled for the first time the day before but conceded the Ashes were a long way off.”Some were good, some were bad and some hit the side net and things like that. I was a little bit rusty but it’s good signs,” Richardson said. “We’re hitting the milestones that we planned out at the start and while it has been really slow, things are looking good.”As nice as it would be [to play in the Ashes], there is a lot of water to go under the bridge before then. We’re not counting out Ashes cricket, but there’s a long process that has started and has been ongoing and there is a lot to go through before then. Things are looking good for the summer and I should be up and ready to go.”However, Richardson could not definitely say when he would be able to return to play for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield but he hoped he could feature in some domestic cricket before the start of the Ashes. WA’s first One-Day Cup match is on September 21 before a tantalising opening Shield match against New South Wales at the WACA ground that will feature Sam Konstas and possibly Cameron Green if he is rested from Australia’s T20I series in New Zealand in order to bowl for the first-time in red-ball cricket after a long layoff following his back injury.Jhye Richardson speaks to the media in Perth to mark 100 days until the Ashes•Getty Images

“These are still ongoing conversations,” Richardson said. “Things that you don’t necessarily plan for can pop up, you can plateau a little bit in terms of progress.”Shield cricket is definitely on the radar, whether it’s game one, two, three, four, five, six, whichever it is, I’m hoping there will be some Shield cricket at some stage and hopefully some cricket for Fremantle and some second XI cricket amongst that as well.””I think white-ball cricket is always good to build the loads for red-ball cricket. We know that bowling 10 overs at high intensity really helps. And match time is something that you can’t necessarily get in the nets. We know that that intensity is going to be important, so I’d say there’d be some white-ball cricket.”Even if Richardson were fit, he would remain behind Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland in the pecking order. But the lure of his red-ball skills are so strong that Australia’s selectors added him to the squad for the Melbourne and Sydney Tests against India last summer when Hazlewood was injured, despite clear issues with his shoulder following his only first-class game that summer.Jhye Richardson dislocated his shoulder in his last first-class game last November•Getty Images

The age profile of Australia’s current quartet and the next best red-ball options beyond them is partly why Richardson is so alluring. Recent Test squad members Sean Abbott, 33, and Brendan Doggett, 31, would be seen as more short-term prospects for Australia’s Test side if and when any of the incumbent quartet finish up. Michael Neser remains a ready-made replacement for the upcoming summer but is 35 and injured his hamstring badly last summer.Lance Morris, 27, has long been earmarked as a possible long-term replacement for Starc as a Test strike weapon but he has just been ruled out of the ODI series against South Africa with back soreness which will also put his Australia A tour of India in jeopardy. Xavier Bartlett (26) and Fergus O’Neill (24) will tour India with Australia A but neither have the speed and x-factor that Richardson offers in full flight.The other major issue for Richardson is that he has been unable to fully contribute in the field for six years since his initial shoulder dislocation in the UAE in 2019. He was once a speedy live-wire in the outfield with a very strong arm but he has barely been able to throw since the injury and has often had to hide in the field because of his inability to dive with freedom and the fact that he mainly underarms or bowls the ball in. The latest surgery was in part a last ditch effort to get his shoulder back to a place where could throw normally again but he said that process would take much longer to come to fruition than his bowling.”The way that it’s presenting at the moment is that it is presenting stable, which is obviously a nice feeling after all the issues that I’ve dealt with over the last few years,” Richardson said. “Throwing is going to be unknown. We know that. It’s obviously a long process to get back, sort of 12-18 months plus to know where it’s really going to be at. But at this stage seven months post surgery, things are looking good.”