The 24-year-old all-rounder Minnu Mani was born on 24 March 1999 and hails from Choyimoola in the Wayanad district of Kerela. She belongs to one of the scheduled tribes in Wayanad, named the Kurichiya tribe. Her father Mani CK works as a daily wage worker while her mother Vasantha is a homemaker. She started playing cricket at the tender age of 10 years, where she used to play with the boys. She is currently pursuing her BA in Sociology through distance learning. In this article, we will have a look at the inspiring journey of Minnu Mani from Wayanad to Team India.
She made her debut for Kerela at the age of 16. She played a crucial role in helping her side win the national T20 championship in 2018, scoring 188 runs with the bat and picking up 11 wickets with the ball. She also represented India Blue in the One-Day Challengers Trophy in the year 2019. She also went on to represent India A. She was later picked up by the Delhi Capitals in the Inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India, earlier this year.
A brilliant debut for Minnu Mani calls for an iconic honour! 👏🏻
Many congratulations to her🥳🙌🏻 #CricketTwitter #BANvIND pic.twitter.com/PBM74VFTK8
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 24, 2023
However, in the WPL she only got a few chances as many as three games to showcase her talent on the big stage. Her opportunity came when she received her maiden call-up to the Indian senior Women’s side for the T20I series against Bangladesh. She justified her call-up to the national side by delivering impressive performances throughout the series picking up five wickets with an average of 11.60.
She became the first female cricketer from Kerela to play for India when she made her International debut on 9th July 2023 in a T20I against Bangladesh. Her best performance with the ball came in the 2nd T20I when she picked up two wickets by giving away just 9 runs in her spell of four overs with an exceptional economy of 2.25. Following a successful debut series for the all-rounder, the Mananthavday panchayat in Wayanad decided to honor her efforts in the series and her inspiring journey on her way to making the team India debut by renaming the Thalassery-Valliyoorkavu junction which is referred to as major junction, will now be known as the Minnu Mani junction.
A formal ceremony will be conducted on her return to Wayanad. The vice-chairman of the panchayat Jacob Sebastian, initiated the move. Originally they wanted to finalize a road to be named after Minnu Mani, but that didn’t happen, and they eventually finalized a junction. “This is indeed a big, positive step and I must commend the panchayat members for it. They have given Minnu’s feats the highlight it deserves. Now, when someone arrives at the junction, they are reminded of Minnu’s accomplishments and will know what hard work and dedication can help achieve.” Justin Fernandes the coach of Kerela Cricket Academy, Wayanad on inspiring young athletes to take up the sport through the journey of Minnu Mani.
(Quotes sourced from The New Indian Express)