Budding cricketer Minnu Mani comes from a village of district Wayanad, Kerala. But her humble beginnings have not stopped her dream to play cricket. Now having received a call up for the India A team, she is slowly taking steps towards her dream to play for India.
As a little girl, Minnu excelled in athletics. Her earliest memories of cricket are playing with the boys of her village in the paddy fields. Her cricketing dream took a leap when she started attending the Mananthavady Government Vocational Higher Secondary School (GVHSS) at Edappady. Cricket was played at this school and her physical education teacher Elsamma Baby was quick to spot her talent. Elsamma recalls that when Minnu had joined their school in 2011, they were in the process of forming a cricket team for girls. Elsamma’s daughter Anumol Baby was a state-level player for Kerala and she used to coach both Minu and Sajana S in the vacations. Sajana went on to captain her state in the senior team.
Elsamma was the one who had taken Minnu for the Thiruvananthapuram open trials where she was selected by the Kerala Cricket Association for the training programme at Thodupuzha.
As reported by Paul Abraham K of english.manoramaonline.com, Elsamma feels that Minnu has a bright future ahead. Minnu is a left-hander and has the potential to make it big, says Elsamma.
Minnu Mani is a right-arm off-spinner and bats left-handed. She has represented the team India Blue in the Under-23 One Day Challenger Trophy which was held at Ranchi earlier this year. She first broke into the scene when the Kerala U-23 women’s team won the national T20 championship which happened in Mumbai last year. She scored a total of 188 runs in the tournament and bagged 11 wickets. She was also declared as the Junior Cricketer of the Year by the Kerala Cricket Association.
Minnu has humble beginnings. She comes from the tribal community of Kurichia in Kerala. The floods in Kerala last year had affected their house badly. Her father is a daily wager. Amidst all these, it was Minnu’s dedication and passion for the game that has pushed her to play this sport.
Minnu’s hard work and persistence paid her off when she got her maiden call for the India A team. She was selected for the Bangladesh tour and for the ACC Emerging Women’s Asia Cup tournament. Currently, the India A team is touring Bangladesh where they will be playing limited over games as part of the tour.
Minnu Mani is very happy to have been selected for the India A team. An excited Minnu tells Onmanorama over the phone – “To be frank the call-up to the ‘A’ team was unexpected. I am very happy and proud. I think it has been a reward for my consistent performances.”
We congratulate the young cricketer for her selection in the India A team and wish her all the best as she embarks on the journey to fulfill her dreams of playing for the senior team.
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