USA Women’s fast bowler Geetika Kodali, just at 21 has quietly built one of the most impressive resumes in American women’s cricket. She is the youngest USA woman to take a five-wicket haul in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and also the country’s first to take a hat-trick, scripting history in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL), achieving the feat as a teenager. A consistent presence across formats, Kodali has been a strike bowler for the USA attack, combining pace with control while contributing crucial breakthroughs in high-pressure matches at the global qualifier level. She has featured in 49 international matches for USA and also captained the 2023 ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup.
In an exclusive with Vishal Yadav for Female Cricket during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier, where the USA eventually fell short against Scotland in their final outing, bringing their qualification campaign to an end, the journey itself marked significant progress. Reaching the decisive stages of the Global Qualifier and remaining in contention until the final round underlined how far the team has come in recent years.
Kodali reflected on her journey from an emerging prospect to a senior figure within the squad. Drawing from experiences in international franchise tournaments such as FairBreak Invitational and the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL), she spoke about bridging the gap between associate and full-member nations, the mental demands of elite cricket, and the responsibility of inspiring the next generation back home.
Q: You’re one of the most experienced USA players. Do you feel like a veteran or still a learner?
Geetika Kodali: I’ve definitely started feeling more like a veteran as the younger players have come in. But I’m also learning new things every day and there’s still a lot to go in my cricket journey. So, it’s a huge journey, and I’m learning every day. But I’m definitely also a veteran.
Q: Geetika, you became the youngest USA player to take a five-for in Women’s ODIs and the first woman to take a hat-trick. What did those moments mean to you?
Geetika Kodali: I think those moments were definitely a pivotal part of my cricket career. But like I said, there’s so much to come. There are more exciting things that I’m looking forward to achieving and it was just great that I was able to help my team in those situations and really contribute to their success.
Q: Do you keep a track of milestones? Do you like personal stats?
Geetika Kodali: I definitely do keep a track of milestones. But I think it’s most important to me that I’m learning and taking something back with me after the game or after training. So, just being intentional with that because if every day I get 1% better, then at the end I’m just going to be improved all the way through.
Q: In one of the chats, you said that cricket is played mentally as much as physically. What does that mental side look like for you?
Geetika Kodali: I think cricket’s a game where you have more bad days than good, and I think that’s a real cliché phrase that every cricketer will say in an interview. But mentally, it’s very challenging to be able to come on these tours and be away from home. Like, you’re giving up time with your family, with school, and in a game where there’s more bad days than good, it’s important to keep having self-belief and keep making sure that you have that support system to lean on when things get tough. But it’s also important to celebrate the victories and the small wins and really have fun. Make memories that you’re probably not going to get from another experience, like traveling the world and being with these teammates that are personally my second family. I think I’ll never take that for granted.
Q: Geetika, you’ve also been part of the FairBreak and the Women’s CPL. Did that make the gap to top nations feel smaller?
Geetika Kodali: Yeah, definitely. I think before we didn’t have as many opportunities to mix and mingle with the full-member players or just with players in other countries. We would just see them at global qualifiers, and that would be one of two international tours. But now with cricket on the rise all over the world, we have all these tournaments and all these opportunities. FairBreak and the CPL was really an eye-opener. I think all of the girls from the USA that participated did extremely well and it really gave inspiration to other people as well as ourselves that we’re at the next level and we’re ready to compete and make a name for ourselves.
Q: What learnings did you bring back from these tournaments into the USA setup?
Geetika Kodali: Definitely, I saw a gap in fielding and athleticism. I think a lot of our girls now, we’ve made it a really big part of what we want to improve on in terms of getting more fit, getting faster, improving our throws, and our fielding skills. Especially on the grounds here, we’ve noticed that it’s really coming down to who is the better fielding side on that day. So, that’s definitely one thing. As well as with batting and bowling, every single player bats differently. So, it’s good to learn from others. It’s also good to make sure that you have your own individuality.
Q: I also got to know that your high school supported your international tours to some extent. How important was that support in the initial stages?
Geetika Kodali: Yeah, it was very, very crucial. I actually lived in California, and I had to move to North Carolina—or not had to, my parents were very supportive, and we moved because we just thought that the East Coast was better for cricketing. Once I moved, I realized that my high school was giving excused absences for my cricket tours, and all the teachers were very supportive. So, I was still able to take really high rigorous courses that helped me at the end, get into a very good college. But I’m very grateful. I don’t think I would be where I am today without that support.
Q: Geetika, being a bowler yourself, who do you look up to?
Geetika Kodali: I definitely look up to Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. In terms of female cricketers, Ellyse Perry has always been my inspiration. Even before I made the USA team, I got hooked by watching the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) where she was captain for Sydney Sixers, and she would be opening the batting and the bowling for the team. I just wanted that to be me one day.
Q: What part of their game would you like to steal? Say, for example, Ellyse Perry, what part of her game would you like to steal?
Geetika Kodali: Yeah, so much (to steal from her). I think I would be happy with taking anything. But I’ve actually heard that off the field her work ethic is probably one of the best among female cricketers and that’s something I’d like to take. I think it would really pay off in my game as well. But skill-wise, I think just how intentional she is. Even with her batting and her bowling, she’s always aggressive. She’s a match-winner. She’ll take games away from you, whether you’re another team in the WBBL or if you’re from another country.
Q: To the young girls who are watching you play cricket, what would you tell them who are currently dreaming of playing for the USA?
Geetika Kodali: I’d say just keep going. Never let your dreams die. There’s always something to play for and as long as you stay true to what you are trying to achieve and you stay honest with yourself, you’re always going to get there in the future. So, there’s so many different opportunities coming up, so many pathways, and it’s important that you make every use of every opportunity.
Q: You’ve been around the USA setup for a while now. If you were to highlight the top three things, if implemented, that would take women’s cricket in the USA to the next level, what would those top three things be?
Geetika Kodali: I think it would definitely be getting more time together as a team. With the USA being so big geographically, we don’t see each other that often. We have to train individually before we come together for camps, tours, or bilaterals. So, it’s been getting better because there are many domestic tournaments that are USA Cricket sanctioned that are giving us an opportunity to come together and play against each other and still develop those relationships. But I think maybe getting cricket in colleges—it’s started for the men’s side now; I know my school, UNC, has a team. So, doing something like that for girls too, especially as more and more are coming out of the Under-19 stage and entering college, that would really be helpful. I’d say that’s probably the number one thing: more playing time, anyway we can get that together would help us in the future.
Q: You talked about WPL. What stands out to you the most about the impact of WPL and, if given an opportunity to play in one of the WPL teams, which one would you pick?
Geetika Kodali: The WPL has been great. We’ve been watching it here since we landed in Nepal. It’s great entertainment and it’s a great standard to look up to and a stage that we all want to play in one day. If I had to pick a team to play on, I think right now I would want to play for the Mumbai Indians because some of my favorite players, like Hayley Matthews and Shabnim Ismail, they’re all on that team, and I just really like their aggression in the game and they look like they’re having so much fun when they’re playing. I’ve also played with both of them (Matthews & Ismail) before in FairBreak and the WCPL.
Q: Geetika with the USA men’s team heading into the Men’s World Cup, any message for the men’s side?
Geetika Kodali: Just go get the World Cup. We’re 100% backing you. The team has come so far, and it’s been inspirational for the women and the girls as well. So, keep going. Get us that awareness that we need in the USA for cricket. And yeah, super proud. But take it all the way.
Though the USA’s World Cup journey ended just short of qualification, performances like Geetika Kodali’s and the team’s ability to stay in contention until the final round reflected a side steadily closing the gap with the game’s established nations. From record-setting spells early in her career to embracing leadership, mentorship, and global exposure through franchise cricket, Kodali embodies the progress of women’s cricket in the United States. As pathways expand and opportunities grow, this campaign may be remembered less for the result and more as another meaningful step in a long-term rise.
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