WPL: Sanskriti Gupta – The Accidental Cricketer Forging Her Eminence Among Elite

Sanskriti Gupta did not know women's cricket even existed till 8 years ago. Now, she is a step away from WPL glory.

WPL 2025: Journey of Mumbai Indians' off-spinner Sanskriti Gupta.

(Photo: BCCI)

Sanskriti Gupta could not have envisaged this. It seemed improbable. Impossible, almost.

In a few hours, she will be competing in the final of the Women’s Premier League (WPL). Leading her team, Mumbai Indians, will be Harmanpreet Kaur – the same stout-hearted batter who scored a fighting half-century in India’s heartbreaking 2017 Women’s World Cup final loss to England eight years ago.

That very tournament had prompted then-captain Mithali Raj to stress the need for a women’s version of the IPL. However, the WPL was still a distant dream.

And what was Sanskriti Gupta doing? She didn’t even know women’s cricket existed.

Looking back at her formative years ahead of the final, she tells The Quint:

Mujhe pata hi nahin tha women’s cricket karke bhi kuch hota hai (I didn’t know there was a thing called women’s cricket). I grew up in a humble family, in a small city of Madhya Pradesh, called Sidhi. My mother, Shavita Gupta, is a housewife. My father, Rajkumar Gupta, works as a ‘loader’ of food grains, although he once was a very popular footballer in our locality. Besides them, there’s my elder sister and my twin brother.

Sanskriti Gupta

From Football to Cricket

So, how exactly did she get into cricket? Pure serendipity.

I used to play gully cricket with my brother and I knew about men’s cricket, but honestly, I had no clue girls also play cricket professionally. I was interested in sports, so one day when I found a few of my school seniors playing football at a ground, I asked my parents to enroll me at that academy. I started as a footballer, and it was only after a few months that I came to know it was actually a cricket academy. Just that since it was rainy season when I had enrolled, they had no other option but to play football.

Sanskriti Gupta

Playing only cause it entertained her, Sanskriti even made it to the Madhya Pradesh women’s football team. Until, she switched to cricket.

So, I was playing just for fun. Aise masti masti mein apne state ke liye national level football tournament bhi khel liya (Starting out as a fun pastime, I even represented my state in a national level football tournament). But I was not aware cricket can be taken seriously by a girl. My coach used to inform me about the trials, and I would skip those every time, saying I had family commitments. My idea was that there was no point in taking up cricket as a career, just because I didn’t even know that was possible.

Sanskriti Gupta

The Two Pivotal Decisions

Still unaware of cricket being a viable career option for women, Sanskriti did all she could to avoid trials – an exercise, she thought, would be a waste of time. Her coach, however, had a few tricks up his sleeve.

One day, my coach forcefully took me with him for division trials at Shahdol. There I saw a few seniors who had already made a name for themselves in cricket. One of them was Pooja Vastrakar di. Seeing them, I realised that cricket is not meant just as a fun pastime for girls, there is a future in this sport.

Sanskriti Gupta

Such was the tectonic shift in her mindset that not only did she decide to give cricket her undivided focus, but also relocated to Shahdol, which was around 160 kilometres further south from her house in Sidhi.

I got selected for the Shahdol team when I was 13, but there was a problem. I got into the senior team that was already packed with good players, and I was just a kid who called herself a pacer, but there was no pace in my bowling. Na batting aati thi, na bowling aati thi, bas poora match khali fielding karti thi (I’d neither get a chance to bat nor ball, I’d just field). This continued for two years, but then when I was 15, I realised aise to nahin hoga (it won’t happen like this). I decided to move out of my house, cause the journey from Sidhi to Shahdol was a tiresome one, and started training more seriously.

Sanskriti Gupta

Was it not challenging for a teenager to live without her family?

The off-spinner is candid in her admission.

Initially it was difficult, to be honest. Because I was not accustomed to staying away from my family. But since I had examples in front of me, senior cricketers who had established themselves in this sport, I knew this was the only way I could reach their position. Now I go home only once or twice a year. Of course, I still miss my family, because what can be done about it?

Sanskriti Gupta

A year into her independent life, Sanskriti made another pivotal decision – abandoning pace bowling for off-spin. What began as an experiment quickly revealed her natural talent.

It was my decision. So I was not pacey enough to be a pacer for the senior team, as I told you, and I was not that good of a batter either. Just a pinch-hitter. So I thought, what’s the point of playing just as a fielder? I went to my coach and asked him if he would be fine with me trying spin. He agreed, and I did very well in the first two overs that I bowled. We decided I would continue with spin, and soon, I got a fifer. It was a lucky break.

Sanskriti Gupta

Journey With Mumbai Indians

Sanskriti was called for a trial by Mumbai Indians a day after her Senior Women’s T20 Trophy quarter-final clash against Bengal. Despite Madhya Pradesh losing that match, she dismissed the opposition’s opener, Dhara Gujjar.

Mumbai Indians called me for a trial after the quarter-final of the Women’s Senior T20 Trophy. I was having a good campaign, so my confidence was high. It helped me perform well with both the bat and ball in the trial. Devieka (Palshikaar) ma’am and Jhulan (Goswami) di were there, they were impressed.

Sanskriti Gupta

Five days before the WPL auction, Sanskriti’s rising star status was cemented when she took six wickets in a Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy match against Goa.

I took six wickets in a One-Day Trophy match just a few days before the auction. That performance, alongside how I performed at the trial, made me confident. I was watching the auction with my MP teammates. But when I saw my name come up, I saw no one raising their paddle for what seemed like an eternity. I thought that was it, I’d be unsold, so I went to my room and nearly broke down in tears. But then my teammates rushed to my room and informed me I had been picked. It was a very emotional moment. I informed my parents, they started crying.

Sanskriti Gupta

Sanskriti has fared well in the few opportunities she has been provided with, picking up four wickets at an average of 14 and an economy rate of 6.58. Beyond the numbers, however, the competition has provided her with an invaluable learning curve.

I have learnt a lot of things from Harman(preet Kaur) di, about her mindset and her style of cricket. Then there’s Pooja di whom I have known for a while. She teaches me how to conduct myself in the game.

Sanskriti Gupta

In a few hours, Sanskriti Gupta might become a WPL champion. Or she might not.

And what if she does not? For, having made it this far – despite the odds, despite the doubts – she is already a champion.