Pooja Vastrakar

A budding fast-bowler in the current Indian squad, Pooja Vastrakar started her career as a batter but her fast bowling was what attracted her coach, who then helped her in honing her bowling skills. Also known for her valuable fielding skill, Pooja announced her arrival in the domestic circuit as far back as 2013.

She first joined the Madhya Pradesh women’s team as a batswoman and later switched to right-arm medium-fast. She made her major domestic debut in a T20 match against Odisha and also played for the Shahdol divisional cricket association. 

She made her ODI debut against South Africa on February 10, 2018 and three days later, she played her T20I debut match against the same side. She was harmless in her first few games picking just one wicket in both her debut matches but her raw bowling skills impressed the selectors enough to earn a place in her country’s side for the 2018 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. However, she suffered a knee injury in a warm-up match that ruled her out of the prestigious tournament before it even began. Recovering back from the injury, Pooja was a vital cog in the  2018 Women’s Asia Cup on the road to their finals.

In January 2020, she was named in India’s squad for the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup but failed to make it into the playing XI. Still a young prodigy, Pooja hasn’t played any international fixture since January 2020 due to the presence of highly experienced pacers like Jhulan Goswami and Mansi Joshi. Although with age on Goswami’s side, Pooja would be looking to fill in the boots of the legendary pacer after her retirement from international cricket.

(As of April 2021)