• Friday, 08th November 2024

Vizag Men's and Women's Cricketers Who Made it to the Indian Team



Venugopal Rao                                                                                                                            Venugopal Rao, who was born in Visakhapatnam, made his first-class debut for Andhra Pradesh at the age of 16, during the 1998-99 season, a year before winning the Under-19 World Cup. He wowed everyone with his technically sound batting and solidified his spot in the lineup. He improved his limited-overs batting as his career progressed. He hit a career-high 228 not out against England A in first-class cricket. That inning earned him an ODI debut against Sri Lanka in July 2005. The following year, he traveled to the UAE to play against Pakistan. After playing for Andhra for many years, Venugopal rose to the position of captain before moving to Gujarat in 2012. Despite a poor first season with the team, he batted very well in the 2013-14 season and was one of the team's top scorers. From 2008 to 2010, he was with the Deccan Chargers before joining the Delhi Daredevils in 2011. He was acquired by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2014 auctions. He returned to the Andhra team to finish his career with his home team, making his final Ranji Trophy appearance against Tamil Nadu in October 2017.                                                                                                              


K S Bharat                                                                                                                                     K S Bharat He only began playing cricket for fun and to get away from school. His father, a Naval Dockyard employee, then decided to enroll him in a cricket academy. This wicketkeeper-batsman made his first-class debut in 2013 against Kerala.  Surprisingly, he began wicketkeeping at the age of 17 when his team needed a keeper-batsman. In February 2015, he became the first wicketkeeper-batsman in Ranji Trophy history to score a triple century. In the same month, he was signed by the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League auction for a base price of Rs 10 lakhs, but he did not get a chance to play. He got his India call-up in November 2019 as a cover for Wriddhiman Saha for India vs. Bangladesh test series. He was brought in by the RCB for the 2021 IPL season, in which he scored well in the top order. He scored 191 runs in 8 games at an average of 38.20 and a strike rate of 122.43. The six he hit on Avesh Khan's low full-toss ball on the last ball of a match against DC drew attention. In January 2022, he was called up for an ODI series against Australia. The defending champion Gujarat Titans (GT) picked him up at Rs 1.20 crore. The Chennai Super Kings made the opening bid, but GT snagged him during the bidding. He is now the Indian National Cricket Team's wicket-keeper batsman.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Sneha Deepthi                                                                                                                   Sneha Deepthi was born in Visakhapatnam, on September 10, 1996. She used to play gully cricket with her father and brother when she was younger. She began playing professional cricket after her father enrolled her in a summer camp. In 2013, she became the first Andhra women's cricket team player to score a double century, scoring 203 not out against East Godavari in a senior women's inter-district match. She was named to the national team for the home series against Bangladesh in 2012-13. Deepthi became the youngest player to represent India in women's Twenty20 international cricket at the age of 16 years and 204 days. In August 2015, she scored 350 against Srikakulam, the highest individual score by an Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) woman cricketer in a league match of the ACA North Zone inter-district women's tournament. After making her international debut against Bangladesh in April 2013, she has played one One-Day International and two Twenty20 Internationals for India in 2013. She joined South Central Railways in 2016 and now plays for the Railways women's cricket team. She continued to play for the Andhra team, and she captained the South Zone cricket team in the Senior Women Interzonal T20 tournament in 2022. She also played in the inaugural ACA women's T20 Andhra Premier League with the Vizianagaram Royals in 2022, scoring 45 runs in the final match. The Delhi Capitals signed this 26-year-old for Rs 30 lakh and she will be competing in the WPL's inaugural season.                                                                                                                                                                              Shabnam Shakeel                                                                                                          Shabnam, who was born in Vizag, was a member of Team India, which won the inaugural Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup. She began playing professional cricket at the age of eight. When she told her parents about her interest in cricket, her father, a firefighter at INS Kaling and a fast bowler who plays club cricket was overjoyed. She only played at the district level until 2021. In the 2021-22 season, she made her debut for the Andhra State team. She was drafted into the India U-19 squad for the home series against New Zealand before being chosen to represent the country at the Women's U-19 T20 World Cup. She is the first from this city to get selected for the National Women’s U-19 Team. The 15-year-old pacer from Visakhapatnam played only two games in the U-19 T20 World Cup, but she bowled well in both. Shabnam Shakeel was purchased by the Gujarat Giants in the Women's Premier League auction for Rs. 10 lakhs. Shabnam became the Women's Premier League's youngest player at the age of 15 after Gujarat purchased her in the latest auction.  


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