INTERVIEW
Follow UsUttarakhand extends like a thumb-shaped outgrowth from the upper left corner of Uttar Pradesh when you look at it on the political map of India. However, this small Himalayan state has recently been a hotbed of cricketing talent in India.
From Rishabh Pant in men’s cricket to Ekta Bisht, Sneh Rana, and Mansi Joshi in women’s cricket, all began their cricket in the state and then eventually moved out as the Uttarakhand Cricket Association was still in its infancy, and the state lacked a proper cricketing ecosystem.
However, in the last five or six years, the Uttarakhand women’s team have been doing really well in the domestic circuit under the tutelage of coach Anagha Deshpande. They have won multiple Under-19 trophies and are regulars in knockouts of BCCI’s premier women’s domestic tournaments.
Nandini Kashyap is a product of that same system, and at just 21 years of age, is already a part of the senior Indian women’s side that will take on West Indies in a T20I series beginning today, December 15 (Sunday).
However, Nandini’s fairytale might just not end there. After scoring 579 runs in 12 innings in the domestic T20 season at an average of 57.9 and a strike rate of 131.9, she is on the radar of as many as four teams in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) prior to the mini-auction, which will be held on the same day as the first T20I of the series.
“RCB and MI had called me for trials. Even DC and UPW had called me, but their trials got cancelled, so I didn’t go there,” Kashyap told Cricket.com in an exclusive conversation prior to the WPL mini-auction and her surprise India selection.
While the Dehradun-born wicketkeeper-batter is only 21, it’s even more astounding that she started cricket professionally only 5-6 years ago. She got the athletic genes from her mother, who had been a tennis and hockey player in the past. She pushed Kashyap towards individual sports, but after enjoying gully cricket with boys, the cricket bug infiltrated the teenager's mind.
However, that’s where Kashyap is different. While most 15-16-year-olds begin a new sport for fun or as a summertime hobby, she always knew from the start that she wanted to take up the sport professionally.
“Even when I joined cricket for the first time (around 15-16 years of age), I started with a very professional mindset,” the right-handed batter said.
“It was never just for fun or like a summer camp activity. In fact, I had moved from badminton to cricket because I was just so much more passionate about it. I practised both times during the day, right from the start. It was never a part-time thing.”
Because of this remarkable clarity and conviction, Kashyap was in the age group sides in Uttarakhand in almost no time, and when the time arrived for the first Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, she was India’s backup wicketkeeper.
That early exposure to playing against international sides was clearly critical for her, as in her own words, “it felt like normal cricket only” to her. Secondly, she got to wear the India jersey early and experience all the facilities and perks that come with donning the blue jersey.
The career-defining 2024 cricket season
The year that changed Nandini Kashyap’s life began with the Uttarakhand T20 League, where she was the highest run scorer and her side, Mussoorie Thunders, won the small league. It was her introduction to what cricket on the big stage could look like. Also, personally, the increased responsibility on her shoulders as a leader in the batting group was now positively impacting her performance on the field.
“It was a turning point for my career before this domestic season,” the Uttarakhand batter said.
“I was leading the batting order there, and since everyone was young, we couldn’t put much pressure on anyone. There were only a few experienced players there.
“In the Uttarakhand team, we have players like Neelam [Neelam Bhardwaj, who scored a double century recently], Raghvi [Bist], who can come and handle the situation. But here we had many newcomers and age group players. But we had more josh (chuckles), and that carried us through.
Also, through interviews, media attention, match coverage, etc., we were exposed to many things that happen only in international cricket and big tournaments.”
That exposure and opportunity had certainly made a great impact on her already, as her batting numbers were suddenly showing an interesting trend. While her strike rate was now growing with her going down the ground and over the infield more often, her average didn’t dip. In fact, with every new T20 tournament, it kept reaching a new high.
Sample this - in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy in 2024, she scored 247 runs at an average of 41.16 and a strike rate of 125.4. In the Challengers after that, her average was 83, as she was the leading run scorer with 332 runs in just five innings at a strike rate of 137.2.
When asked what has changed in her batting, her answer was simple - mindset!
“I don’t think I have made many changes [in my batting],” she said.
“It’s only my mindset that has changed. I’ve just become more focused on my batting and assured about the kind of mindset I want to carry on the field. Like if I have to try something on the field, I’ll just go and do that. I’ll not worry about execution much.
Earlier, I used to play along the ground. But now I try to go aerial to clear the infield quite often.”
Such an uncomplicated way of thinking has helped her add more tactical nous to her batting, enabling her to access more gaps in the field.
“I’ve realised that we can play so much with the field and deal with a bowler according to our needs in the game,” the Dehradun-born said.
“Like if the bowler has taken four fielders on sweeper, cow corner, long on and long off, then I have the cover region empty. So I hit one shot there, a fielder would be added there, and then probably the sweeper position will be empty then which I can exploit using my sweep shot. My aim here is just to confuse the bowler so that their tactics and plans are disturbed.”
If you look at her batting style in a nutshell here, you’ll find remarkable similarities with how Jemimah Rodrigues goes about her business. As I found out in the interview, it isn’t a coincidence. Kashyap really “relates to Jemimah.”
“I can relate with her a lot. She’s a real team player, gives 100% and more for her team in every game,” Kashyap said.
“Her willpower is so good. I’ve talked to her for almost an hour, and her way of treating people is so nice. You wouldn’t feel like that ‘Hey, I’m Jemimah Rodrigues, India player.’ Even professionally, she has consistently scored runs. Even in the WBBL [Women’s Big Bash League], she was so good. So I really like her.”
All this improvement and growth in her batting have been possible due to the efforts of Uttarakhand women’s coach Anagha Deshpande and Kashyap’s personal coach, Ravi Negi, whom she trains with in the off-season.
“Anagha ma’am, for sure had a great role to play in the development of my batting,” the Uttarakhand opening batter said.
“Whatever she has told me, I’ve always been able to execute it well. She’s a great help whenever I train with her in the camps.
Apart from her, I’ve also got a personal coach - Ravi Negi sir. He has helped me a lot during off-season.”
WPL on the horizon for Nandini Kashyap
Naturally, the WPL feels like the next step for Kashyap now, who has already been selected for the senior Indian setup remarkably. However, when asked if the possibility of playing the WPL excites her, Kashyap suddenly became stoic and spoke with maturity beyond her age.
“WPL is a bit unpredictable,” she said.
“It’s better that I keep doing what’s been working for me and let them do their work. But of course, I have hopes but I have other tournaments [at the domestic level] to focus on as well. So yeah, hoping for the best.”
However, it’s not like she underestimates what role being a part of the WPL can play in her career. She has seen the WPL to India pipeline develop right in front of her.
“WPL is a great platform to perform. There have been many like Sajana Di [Sajana Sajeevan] who have been selected in the Indian team due to the WPL. But my goal right now is India. WPL, for me, is a means to reach there. So it’s simple for me, that I’ll keep performing, and if I do well, I’ll play in WPL and India.”
Not only that, but the opportunity to train under foreign coaches and learn from them really lit her eyes up when she talked about how she’d like to play for RCB if given a chance.
“I’m very excited about the prospect of training with foreign coaches if selected in the WPL,” Kashyap said.
“Because who knows, something drastic might improve in my batting from their advice, and that will be great for my game. And if I look at it positively, being a part of such diverse setups also allows me to understand what teams like Australia and England do right and that they are able to handle things so easily.
“We can see that even in today’s game [the 3rd ODI between Australia and Indian women], all of a sudden, the entire match went in Australia’s favour. So I want to know what’s special in their game that way that they are multiple-time world champions.”
However, despite that, it’s her father who’s more excited than her about the mini-auction and the possibility of being picked by a side in the world’s richest women’s cricket league.
“My father is always excited about things like WPL, etc.,” she said.
“But I’ve always been calm about these things. He talks to my mom about these things a lot. That’s when I say, ‘Papa, aap tension mat lo. Jo hona hai ho jayega’ (Papa, you don’t worry. What has to happen, will happen).
“Because when those things will happen, it will bring so much happiness. But if we keep expectations and they get shattered, then it will be really heartbreaking.”
For Nandini Kashyap, however, there’s no time for heartbreaks right now. Her cricket career looks like a roller coaster that is only going upwards now.
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