The story of the spin bowling sensation from Kerela, Sobhana Asha who scripted history at the WPL.
The 32-year-old leg-spinner Sobhana Asha hailing from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, started her cricketing journey as a 13-year-old representing Trivandrum. She decided to take up cricket after watching the famous battle between Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne at Sharjah in 1998. She looks up to former Australian leg-spinner Stuart MacGill.
She then went on to play for the Railways at the domestic level. She moved to Pondichery for the 2022-23 season after piling her trade for the Railways for nearly a decade. She was spotted by RCB through their hinterland scouting program way before the idea of launching a franchise league for women was even implemented on the ground level. They eventually picked her up for her base price of 10 lakhs in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League.
She made her Women’s Premier League debut on 5th March 2023 against the Delhi Capitals. She picked up 5 wickets in 5 innings last season. Her best performance with the ball for the Royal Challengers Bangalore last season in a winning cause came on 15th March 2023 against the UP Warriorz. However, they had a season to forget as they finished fourth on the points table with just a couple of victories under their belt in the inaugural edition of the WPL.
She was the 7th highest wicket-taker of the tournament and the highest wicket-taker for her side with picked up 16 wickets in 7 innings in the recently concluded Senior Women’s One Day Trophy for Pondicherry. She was one of the players retained by RCB for the 2nd edition of the tournament. The Royal Challengers Bangalore management reaped the rewards for backing her for another season. RCB led by skipper Smriti Mandhana with the inclusion of some fresh new faces were all set to face the UP Warriorz led by skipper Alyssa Healy to get their campaign underway in the 2nd edition of the WPL.
She created history as she became the first Indian bowler and the 4th bowler overall to pick a five-wicket haul in the history of the Women’s Premier League when she returned with exceptional match figures (5/22) in her spell. She played a pivotal role in helping the Smriti Mandhana-led Royal Challengers Bangalore get their campaign off to a good start with a nervy 2-run victory in a last-ball thriller against the UP Warriorz in front of the jam-packed Chinnaswamy crowd. After getting off to a dream start this season, her dream of representing India at the international level could be within sight if she manages to continue her good start to the season.