Minnu Mani (born 24 March 1999) is an Indian international cricketer who represents the Indian women's national team. She plays for Delhi Capitals in Women's Premier League. In domestic cricket, she represents Kerala cricket team. She became the first Kerala woman cricketer to play for India.
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 24 March 1999 Wayanad, Kerala, India | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm off break | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | All-rounder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| T20I debut (cap 74) | 9 July 2023 v Bangladesh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 21 September 2023 v Malaysia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014/15–present | Kerala | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Delhi Capitals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 10 October 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
editMinnu hails from Choyimoola in Wayanad district of Kerala. Her father, Mani CK, is a daily wage labourer and her mother, Vasantha, is a homemaker.[1] She has a younger sister, Mimitha.[2] She studied at Mananthavady Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, Edappady till Grade 8 and St. Sebastian High School, Thodupuzha till Grade 10. She completed her higher secondary education at Sarvajana Higher Secondary School, Sulthan Bathery and graduated from Government College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram.[3] As of 2023, she is pursuing her BA in Sociology through distance learning.[4]
She started playing cricket at 10 with boys at paddy fields. Initially, her family didn't support the idea of her playing cricket. Her physical education teacher, Elsamma noticed her skill and took her to selection trials of the Wayanad District Under-13 team. The next year, she played in the Kerala U-16 team and represented Kerala at the senior level aged 16. Minnu had to travel one and a half hours daily, switching four buses to reach the nearest stadium from her home for cricket practice.[4][5]
Domestic career
editMinnu made her debut for Kerala at the age of 16. She was the key performer when the Kerala U-23 women's team won the national T20 championship in 2018 with of 188 runs and 11 wickets. In 2019, she represented India Blue in the Under-23 One Day Challenger Trophy. She got her maiden call for the India A team touring Bangladesh and was called for ACC Emerging Women's Asia Cup in the same year.[6]
Indian Premier league
editIn February 2023, she was bought by the Delhi Capitals in the WPL auction ahead of the 2023 Women's Premier League.[7]
International career
editIn July 2023, she was called up to the Indian team touring Bangladesh, making her the first female cricketer from Kerala to earn an India call-up.[8] She made her Women's Twenty20 International cricket (WT20I) debut for India Women against Bangladesh Women on 9 July 2023.[9] She finished the series as India's highest wicket-taker, with 5 wickets from three matches.[10] In July 2023, she was selected in India's 2023 Asian Games squad.[11]
In December 2023, Mani was selected in India's T20I series against Australia.[12]
References
edit- ^ "Minnu Mani, Labourer's Daughter, Becomes First From Kerala to Make Indian Women's Cricket Team". Outlook India. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "'സ്പെഷ്യല് ക്ലാസുണ്ടെന്നുവരെ പറഞ്ഞ് ക്രിക്കറ്റ് കളിക്കാന് പോയിട്ടുണ്ട്' - മിന്നുമണി". Mathrubhumi (in Malayalam). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "മിന്നുകയാണു കേരളത്തിന്റെ പൊന്നുമണി". Madhyamam (in Malayalam). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Meet Minnu Mani, tribal woman cricketer from Kerala who's set to play for India". The News Minute. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "WPL Auction: Tribal girl Minnu Mani reaps rich rewards for her sacrifices". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "Wielding the willow, this tribal girl from Wayanad chases a dream". OnManorama. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ Sudarshanan, S (13 February 2023). "Bid-by-bid updates - 2023 WPL auction". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "India's tour of Bangladesh: Minnu Mani becomes the first from Kerala to get picked in Indian women's squad". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "1st T20I, Mirpur, July 09, 2023, India Women tour of Bangladesh". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ "India Women tour of Bangladesh- Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ^ "Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harmanpreet Kaur to lead as BCCI announces India men's and women's squads for 19th Asian Games". The Indian Express. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
- ^ "Team India's ODI & T20I squad against Australia announced". Board of Control for Cricket in India. Retrieved 25 December 2023.