On 24th September 2007, MS Dhoni-led India lifted the World T20 Championships trophy in Johannesburg. While the Men in Blue were celebrating a close victory against rivals Pakistan, a young 9-year-old girl had just experienced the moment of her life on a television screen back home in Hyderabad. Fast-forward eleven years, this young lady- Arundhati Reddy- was in the Indian women’s team that reached the finals of the 2020 T20 World Championships in Australia. In this Arundhati Biography, you will get to know about her cricket journey, playing style, family, etc.
Arundhati Reddy Biography
| Name | Arundhati Reddy | ||||||||||||
| Born | 4 October 1997 (age 29) | ||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm medium-fast | ||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | ||||||||||||
| National side | India | ||||||||||||
| T20I debut (cap 59) | 19 September 2018 vs Sri Lanka | ||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 14 July 2021 vs England | ||||||||||||
| Domestic team information |
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Early Days
Arundhati Reddy was born in the then Andhra Pradesh's capital of Hyderabad. From the start, Arundhati was very good at her studies. In fact, she was one of the best in her school.
Arundhati used to play cricket with her brother, Rohit Reddy, and his friends in her free time. Back then, she used to don short hair. Everybody else thought she was a boy since she dressed up like one. Soon compliments started to drop in, and people suggested that she should consider cricket.
In 2007, an 11-year-old Arundhati used to stay late, not to study, but rather to watch India's World T20 Championship matches held in South Africa. India won the title and gave birth to the MSD era. Back in Hyderabad, it gave birth to dreams of professional cricket for Arundhati. What started as a source of recreation soon turned out as a serious affair, with the youngster taking the sport passionately. Arundhati then spoke with her mother, Bhagya Reddy, who let her child's dream take flight. Her mother spoke to Arundhati's cousin, who used to play professionally.
Arundhati Reddy Career
Credits: Telangana Today
Arundhati joined the same academy and started training. Despite bowling well, Arundhati wanted to keep wicket, as she was inspired by Rahul Dravid, a part-time Indian wicketkeeper. However, she had other plans.
"When I started off, I used to idolize Rahul Dravid sir. I wanted to be a wicketkeeper, actually. Even when I went to my coaching camp, the first thing my coach asked me to do was to bowl. He liked my bowling, and then he told me that he wants me to improve as a bowler, a fast bowler."
"But then my head was all into keeping, and I was not really interested in bowling. So after a few weeks, I spoke to my coach about it, and he said that if I want to keep, then I don't need to come and attend his camp from the next day. Otherwise, probably I would have been a wicketkeeper (laughs)," Arundhati said in an interview.
After a couple of months in the academy, her coach sent her to the Women's Summer Camp organized by the Hyderabad Cricket Academy. Arundhati was so good that she was directly sent to the U-19 team.
Domestic Cricket
Credits: The News Minute
At the HCA, she came under Savita Nirala, the head coach of the women's team. This move was very important for Reddy, as Nirala would go on to have a significant influence on the young prodigy. It was at HCA that Reddy started to get more engrossed in bowling than batting.
She was quick and agile due to her lean build and low center of gravity. Nirala sensed this as an opportunity and groomed Reddy into an all-rounder with an inclination towards right-arm fast bowling. Arundhati went on to get employed with Southern Railways as a junior clerk, whom she also represented on the sporting front.
There, she got acquainted with the railways’ cricket coach Nooshin Al Khadeer, who also had a deep impact on her career.
T20I Career
Credits: Telangana Today
In August 2018, while practicing for a local tournament, Reddy was informed by her friend about the Indian team call-up for the Women’s team T20 matches against Sri Lanka.
“Honestly, I didn't really expect the call. I was practicing, and that's when my friends called and told me the news. I just celebrated the occasion by having dinner with my family and friends, who were already there by the time I reached home," she said after the call-up.
On her debut, Arundhati had an eventful bowling performance as she took the all-important wicket of a well-set B Mendes. On the other hand, though, she had conceded 37 runs in 3 overs. Her performance was eclipsed by that of Poonam Yadav's, who had scalped four wickets for 26 runs in 4 overs to help India to a fine victory.
Credits: BCCI
Arundhati rose to the occasion in the 3rd T20, when she displayed an all-around performance. She first scalped two crucial wickets of Mendes and H Siriwardene before displaying her fielding prowess by taking a catch and inflicting a run out on MK Dilhari.
On 28th September, it was declared that Arundhati Reddy would be donning the Indian jersey at the 2018 ICC Women's World Cup in the West Indies. The news came on the same day when another fast-bowler and veteran, Jhulan Goswami, announced her retirement. And naturally, people started to term her the next Goswami.
After a dismissive 2018 T20 World Championships campaign, Reddy returned with 4 wickets in 3 T20Is during the tour of New Zealand. Arundhati has gone on to cement her spot in the Indian Women’s squad in the run to the 2020 T20 World Championships in Australia.
In May 2021, Reddy was named in India’s Test squad for their one-off match against the England women’s cricket team.
Also Read | Types of bowling in cricket: A to Z guide for fast & spin bowling
2020 World T20 Championships
The BCCI named Arundhati Reddy in a young and talented 15-member squad for the T20 World Championships in Australia. In the first match, a repeat of the final group game as well as the finals, which India then lost; Arundhati showed some economical bowling as Poonam Yadav and Shikha Pandey helped India win by 17 runs.
In the following match against Bangladesh, Reddy and the Indian bowling attack defended off 142. Reddy picked the wickets of Murshida Khatun and Fargana Hoque and led the Indian women to a second consecutive victory.
Arundhati Reddy Career Stats
| FORMAT | Matches | Innings | Runs | Wickets | BBI | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
| ODI | 11 | 11 | 490 | 15 | 4/26 | 5.36 |
| T20I | 52 | 51 | 1352 | 48 | 4/22 | 7.78 |
Playing style
Arundhati Reddy is known for her explosive pace and speedy deliveries. She is capable of swinging in both directions with equal adroitness and can eventually come up with deadly bouncers as well. She can also prove to be a useful fielder, although her batting still remains untested.
Arundhati Reddy Family
Credits: The News Minute
Arundhati Reddy was born in Hyderabad, the state capital of Telangana, on 4 October 1997. Her mother, Bhavya Reddy, is an ex-volleyball player. Arundhati has, time and again, asserted her mother's immense support for her success.
Instead of restricting her daughter from cricket and summoning her to focus on her academics, Bhagya did the exact opposite of it. She encouraged Arundhati to fully concentrate on the sport even if it meant that her studies would take a hit. Acknowledging this, Arundhati recently said,
"I was very good at my studies, but after I started playing professionally, my marks slipped. But not once did my mother push me to score better than other students. She has been very supportive."
Bhagya would play a doting mother for her ever since she started playing professionally. Each morning, she would wake Arundhati at 4 am and would accompany her to the training ground. Thereafter, Bhagya would quickly return home, cook food, and take Arundhati to school. After school, she would then drop her daughter off at another practice session and would only return home by 9 pm. There was a reason for Bhagya's immense support to Arundhati. She was a budding volleyball player in her time but couldn't play any further due to financial constraints.
She did not want to see her daughter face a similar fate. Highlighting this fact, Arundhati once said how her mother "saw herself in me." She also has a brother by the name Rohit Reddy, with whom she started to play cricket in her heydays.
Arundhati Reddy Unknown Facts
- Arundhati Reddy was born in a 'cricket loving family.’
- She follows Jasprit Bumrah's bowling quite closely and idolizes Rahul Dravid.
- Her mother is an ex-volleyball player.
- Arundhati Reddy was appointed a junior clerk in the Southern Railway.
- The BCCI awarded Arundhati Reddy with the Grade C contract (₹10 lakhs per annum) in 2019-20 for her exploits with the Indian national women’s team.
Arundhati Reddy: Social-Media
When did Arundhati Reddy make her India debut?
Arundhati made her T20I debut for India in September 2018 against Sri Lanka.
Which team does Arundhati Reddy play for in WPL?Arundhati Reddy currently plays for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Women's Premier League.
What are Arundhati Reddy's major achievements?She has represented India in T20 World Cups and is known for her consistent performances in ODIs and T20Is.