To see Tanuja wear India jersey a special feeling, says father of Shimla girl who makes T20 debut against UAE in Sri Lanka

Subhash Rajta

Shimla, July 21

Yet another girl from the state has made it to the Indian national women cricket team. Tanuja Kanwar, who hails from a small village called Kuthar in Theog tehsil of Shimla district, made her India debut in the T20 International against the UAE today in the ongoing Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.

For her family back home, the moment marked the culmination of a long wait, hard work and sacrifice. “We are extremely happy and proud of her. We all have been waiting for this moment since long. Tanuja has been working nonstop to wear the Indian jersey, to see her playing for India is a special feeling,” said Pratap Singh Kanwar, her father.

Coming from a small village where the girls normally play games like volleyball, kabaddi and kho-kho, it must have been tough for Tanuja to choose cricket and excel in it.

“She started off playing with the kids in the neighbourhood with a ball made of cloth. She would play with her cousins and we would also often join them,” said Kanwar, a farmer.

Tanuja’s interest in the game kept growing with time, and her family decided to send her to women’s cricket academy Dharamsala. “She played badminton and volleyball, too, but her interest in cricket was much more. Seeing her interest, the family took her to the academy, where she improved by leaps and bounds,” said Shallo Kanwar, her elder sister.

At the academy, she developed into a handy all-rounder as a left-arm spinner and middle order batter. Rising through the ranks, she represented the state in u-19 level and then made it to the senior side of the state. She shifted to Railways a couple of years back for a job. She has also played two seasons of the Women Premier League.

“She came to the academy in 2013. She developed into a fine all-rounder, winning games for her team with both bat and ball,” said Pawan Sen, her coach at the Dharamsala academy.

Sen feels Tanuja got the India call a little late at the age of 28. “She has been performing very well at the domestic level and in the women premier league over the last couple of seasons. The opportunity has come a little late but she will make it count and play for the country for a long time,” said Sen.

Looking at her performance in the very first game, in which she picked up a wicket conceding just 14 runs in four overs, the future surely looks bright for this Shimla girl.