Three days ago, the hill town of Tirumala welcomed three familiar faces from Indian cricket—Shreyanka Patil, Jitesh Sharma, and Rajat Patidar—as they arrived together for a quiet spiritual pause. Draped in traditional red shawls, the trio offered prayers at the Tirumala temple, taking a moment away from the noise of cricket grounds and calendar pressures.
For most visitors, Darshan is a routine of devotion. For Shreyanka Patil, it carried a deeper layer. The last eleven months of her life have been shaped by untimely injuries, forced breaks, and moments of helpless distance from the game she thrives in. This temple visit came at a time when she finally feels movement again—slow, steady, and hopeful.
Shreyanka’s 11-month absence was triggered by a series of setbacks: a fractured finger during the Asia Cup last July, Grade 3 shin splints that returned after the T20 World Cup, a stress reaction in her wrist, and a fractured thumb during a routine fielding drill just as she cleared fitness tests.
The phase cost her more than tournaments. When India lifted their first-ever World Cup trophy earlier this month, she watched from afar. It was pride mixed with an ache she never hid. Her international record—3 ODIs with 5 wickets and 16 T20Is with 20 wickets—saw its last updates in June 2024 (ODIs) and October 2024 (T20Is). She also missed WPL 2025 completely.
Her comeback began quietly in September 2025 with the Barbados Royals in the WCPL, where 1 wicket in 5 matches was less about numbers and more about restarting after nearly a year away.
Then, in November 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru reaffirmed their belief in her by retaining her for Rs 60 Lakhs ahead of the auction on November 26—a reminder that one shaky year does not erase her brilliance. After all, this is the same player who finished WPL 2024 as the leading wicket-taker with 13 wickets, winning the Emerging Player of the Season and the Purple Cap, guiding RCB to their maiden WPL title.
Amid all this, the Tirumala visit was more than a simple spiritual ritual. It was Shreyanka’s way of grounding herself after a year of forced pauses and emotional swings. Standing beside Jitesh Sharma and Rajat Patidar—both dealing with their own pressures and cricketing cycles—she found a moment of stillness.
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