About Minnu Mani:
Name: Minnu Mani
DOB: March 24, 1999
Bowling style: Right arm off-break
Batting style: Left hand bat
Place of Birth – India
Role: Bowling All-rounder
Teams- Delhi Capitals women, India women, Kerala women
Bio:
A young girl from Kerala who started her career as a batter at the age of 15, Minnu Mani made her debut for the senior team of Kerala. But in her U19 camps, she started focusing on her skills as a bowler. Who knew that she would become the first girl from the state of Kerala to play in the Women’s Premier League? In the inaugural season of the WPL, she made only three appearances.
She received her maiden T20I call-up in the series against Bangladesh, which was India’s first assignment after the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup. She made her debut in the first match itself. Overall, she picked up five wickets in the three matches she played. In the second edition of the WPL, she played the last league match for Delhi Capitals against the Gujarat Giants, in which she picked up her first wicket.
Mani belongs to the Kurichiya tribe, where most of the girls aren’t allowed to leave their houses or play with boys. The bowling all-rounder from Delhi worked very hard during her school days and later enrolled in the Kerala Cricket Academy. She faced a lot of roadblocks to break into Indian cricket. The year 2023 saw Minnu emerging as a pathbreaker. She has achieved many records that will remain unbreakable. Apart from becoming the first Kerala player to be picked in the WPL auction, she is also the first cricketer from Kerala to make it into India’s side. She also became the first Keralite girl to win cricket gold at the Asian Games, as well as the first Malayali woman to captain the India ‘A’ team.
She is the cricketer of many “firsts.” But for the Keralite player, this is just the beginning of something special with a long pathway ahead.