Taniya Bhatia

India’s latest sensation, Taniya Bhatia does some spectacular work behind the stumps. She is a specialist wicket-keeper but her domestic level statistics laud highly about her gritty batting. 

Bhatia was first introduced to the game as a 4-year-old and simply loved it. Her father saw the caliber and further put Taniya in a cricket academy in Chandigarh, where she progressed to become a professional. 

The Chandigarh-born got huge steps as a young prodigy to play for her state under-19 team, before graduating to the senior team at the age of 16. The national call-up was never too far for a player like her.

She made her T20I debut against South Africa in 2018 to become the first woman cricketer from Chandigarh to represent the national team. Later that season, she played her maiden ODI game against Sri Lanka. A couple of months later, the youngster was picked for the World T20, ahead of Sushma Verma, and had a decent tournament with the gloves. 

The keeper-batsman was also part of the Indian side, which went to the final of the T20 World Cup of 2020. Bhatia was extraordinary behind the wickets as she was involved with seven catches and four stumps during the historic event. 

In this short span, Bhatia has become an integral part of the Indian squad. She has been contributing widely with her glovework but needs to become handy with the bat as well. 

(As of April 2021)