One woman, who now possesses an India cap and a WPL contract, debuted for her country last year, is 20 years old and has taken 15 wickets in nine one-day internationals, with a strike rate of 27 and an average of 26.60. In eight matches during the league stage of the 2025 WPL, when Gujarat Giants (GG) advanced to the playoffs for the first time, she took six wickets.
Her name is Priya Mishra, and she’s taken the women’s cricket scene by storm.
Brushing off the haters and some googly
When playing cricket in the streets of West Delhi, Priya Mishra faced criticism and bullying for playing with the boys. Fortunately, and while she didn’t envision this as a potential career herself, the life of a married housewife wasn’t in her destiny, and with her family’s constant support she made a dream come true.
The pivotal moment in Mishra’s life occurred when her sports instructor at Salwan Girls Senior Secondary School observed her playing cricket. Priya Chandra, a former state-level athlete, recommended that she seek guidance from Shravan Kumar, who has trained Pratika Rawal, Ishant Sharma, and Harshit Rana, among others.
The majority of Mishra’s international wickets have been achieved with the googly, including all six wickets she has taken in WPL 2025 to date. Mishra says that the googly is only a tactic to mislead the hitters, while her primary delivery remains the leg break.
She argues that since “batters cannot read me, I take wickets from the googly,” as she explained to ESPN in a recent interview. “As much as I can, I attempt to target their feet and set batters up with legspin. This causes batters to believe I can only bowl a legspin—that is, a googly meant to collect wickets,” she added.
From a Youthful Prospect to the Big Leagues
At thirteen years old, Mishra joined the Delhi Under-19 squad. She made it to the Delhi Under-23 squad at 15 and then the senior team at 18 after picking up lots of wickets for two seasons. She has 78 wickets in 35 List-A games since then, averaging 16.48 and with a strike rate of 21.79. She also boasts 22 wickets in 26 T20 games at an economy of barely 6.85.
Mishra travelled with India A to Australia in August last year, accumulating six wickets in the unofficial Test—four in the first innings. She also turned back a five-for in the sole unofficial ODI.
Women’s Premier League Outright Winner
While World Cup aspirations are evidently on her mind, Mishra, alongside her Gujarat Giants teammates, is currently competing with the Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals women’s teams for the Women’s Premier League title.
Currently, the best betting apps found here have Mishra and GG at long odds of 3/1, but there isn’t much separating the three sides battling for WPL glory.
Women’s Premier League – Winner Betting Odds:
- Delhi Capitals Women @ 10/11
- Mumbai Indians Women @ 13/8
- Gujarat Giants Women @ 3/1
Close Relations with Coach
Not only did her ward Priya make it to the Indian squad, but her coach Shravan Kumar, who has taught players like Ishant Sharma and Harshit Rana, was ecstatic and praised Priya as one of his most diligent pupils.
Likewise, Priya thanks coach Shravan for being her most continuous supporter since she began her career in 2013. For approximately six months, Priya hardly gave cricket any thought. Her heart found great delight in flying kites. Still, the pleasure of getting her first-ever kit bag from her coach surpassed that.
While training with spin bowling coach Pravin Tambe at GG, Mishra spends a lot of time doing single-wicket exercises. She also realises things with Deepti on the India team. Added to the exposure is sharing the Gujarat Giants dressing room with Ash Gardner, Laura Wolvaardt, and Deandra Dottin. She eagerly awaits her talks with Deepti Sharma and the fierce rivalry with fellow Delhiite Pratika when she gets back to the Indian squad.
Although the Patel Nagar native knows she belongs in the top leagues, she also knows she has to perform to keep her spot, particularly given the ODI World Cup scheduled for India later this year.
Mishra is content for now; she does not have to pay Baljeet Nagar rent. In 2024, she used her WPL income from last year and domestic cricket funds to buy a house and a car. Her ambition now is to play long for India and assist them in winning a World Cup on her native ground.
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