Vaishnavi finds India high after WPL heartbreak

For Madhya Pradesh left-arm spinner Vaishnavi Sharma, the last few days have felt like a whirlwind as she has swung from deep disappointment to the biggest delight of a cricketer.

- Shalini Gupta

Having gone unsold at WPL auction last month after being on the radar of MI and RCB, the 19-year-old had barely processed the disappointment when she was offered a far bigger prize: a maiden India call-up after being included in the squad for the upcoming T20I series in Sri Lanka."I was really gutted to be unsold in the WPL auction," Vaishnavi said. "But so many players, coaches and seniors reached out and supported me. Within 3 days, I got my Ist India call-up. I was over the moon." Her base price was ₹10 lakh.

Her selection, however, is no bolt from the blue. Over the past two seasons, Vaishnavi has been a standout performer across U-19, U-23 and senior domestic events, consistently finishing among the highest wicket-takers for MP and Central Zone.