When Kranti Singh Gaud stepped off the state aircraft at Khajuraho airport, the afternoon sun was unrelenting. But nothing could outshine her smile. India’s new bowling sensation—fresh from lifting the ICC Women’s World Cup—had come home.
From Khajuraho to her home town Ghuwara, the over 100 km journey turned into a rolling celebration. It took almost 10 hours to cover the distance. Villagers thronged the roadside waving flags, showering her with petals, and beating drums. Kranti waved hands, bowed before the jubilant people with folded hands and broke into an impromptu dance with a World Cup replica in her hand—a moment of unfiltered joy.
It was a hero’s homecoming, but it was also something deeper: the symbolic return of a daughter who had beaten not just opponents on the pitch, but centuries of social odds.
The parched heartland of Bundelkhand, where Kranti’s story begins sometime in 2017, is a paradox. A region famed for its valour and the wondrous temples of Khajuraho, yet burdened with drought, migration, malnutrition, and poverty. Its dusty fields, split between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, often make headlines for farmer suicides, not sporting triumphs.
Here, traditions still run deep. Patriarchy remains a way of life. Women’s mobility, education, and aspirations often shrink within rigid social walls. According to the National Family Health Survey-5, the sex ratio in Bundelkhand hovers around 929, much below the national average.
In such a landscape, a young girl choosing cricket—a game long seen as the preserve of men—was almost a rebellion in itself.
Kranti was born in Ghuwara, in Chhatarpur district, to a police constable and a homemaker. Her father’s modest salary barely kept the family afloat. She is a middle-school dropout, but wants to continue her education now and will appear for her Class 10 board exam in this academic session.
When the young athlete began showing an unusual fascination for cricket, neighbours scoffed. But her mother refused to let her dream die. She mortgaged her jewellery to help Kranti—a sacrifice that has since become family legend. “Now I will weigh her against gold,” Kranti says with a proud smile.
Kranti’s earliest matches were played barefoot, on dusty grounds, with tennis balls and improvised stumps. She was often the only girl in sight.
Yet, she bowled with such speed and precision that people took notice. Her coach Rajiv Bilthare pushed her to attend trials in Chhatarpur and later Bhopal. Meals were skipped, shoes torn. But the hunger remained—to bowl faster, better, harder. Her consistency earned her a place from district level tournaments to the state level to national and then the team India in May 2025.
The rest is history. At the World Cup, Kranti’s fiery spells made her a revelation. Her wicket-taking deliveries and fearless demeanour symbolised the new face of Indian women’s cricket — fierce, unflinching, and self-made.
A Royal Reception for a 'Just a Village Girl'
Kranti’s homecoming was planned like a state event. The district administration issued a minute-to-minute programme, detailing every halt, every reception. Before reaching home, she was hosted for lunch by the Chief Minister Mohan Yadav at the Chief Minister’s bungalow in Bhopal. From there, she travelled by state aircraft to Khajuraho, then by road to Ghuwara.
Every few kilometers, villagers lined the route to felicitate her. At each stop, garlands piled up, drumbeats echoed, and local women burst into celebrations. The moment she entered Ghuwara the crowd surged. Kranti, overcome with emotion, stood atop her car, waving, laughing, and dancing.
“It felt unreal. These were the same streets I walked to school barefoot.”Kranti Gaud
But amid the festivities, another story quietly unfolded—one of loyalty, loss, and redemption.
Kranti’s father, a police constable, was terminated from service in 2012 for dereliction of duty. Since then, the family has continued to live in the same modest government accommodation he once occupied. Now, after her victory, Kranti has made a heartfelt request to the chief minister to reinstate her father.
"I requested the chief minister to help my father get the job again and he has assured me”, she told The Quint. For Kranti, it is more than a bureaucratic matter. “He may have lost his job, but he never lost faith in me, “she said softly.
Ghuwara Gets its Own Celebrity
Since her arrival, local politicians, party leaders, and officials have made a beeline for her house. BJP functionaries have showered her with flowers, while villagers come bearing sweets and selfies. Kranti takes it all in stride. Her small house in the police quarters in Ghuwara has become a tourist destination.
“People from far and wide come calling. The other day a family from West Bengal visited too. Perhaps, they were visiting Khajuraho and felt like visiting me,” she said.
Then, there are invites to attend functions from different places of MP and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. On a break sanctioned by the BCCI, she spends her mornings doing meditation, meeting a number of people the whole day and visiting temples and social functioning Ghuwara.
“I’m not playing with the local girls right now, but before I leave, I’ll hold a small tournament for them.”Kranti Gaud
She also visited local schools in Ghuwara and personally picked up a local team for the upcoming tournament. Her plans are rooted in family and soil. She wants to build a proper house for her parents, buy land for her father and brother to farm, and “make sure no girl from our village has to mortgage dreams for money again.”
“Everything I have today is by the grace of God,” she says simply. Her humility disarms those expecting celebrity airs. For Bundelkhand, a region better known for its despair than dreams, Kranti’s story is revolutionary.
She has challenged the stereotypes of gender and geography, proving that grit can bloom even in the most barren soil. “I would want parents to trust their daughters and let them do what they wish,” she said. Parents now point to her name as proof that daughters, too, can bring glory. Girls chase cricket balls on parched fields with new confidence.
Kranti Gaud is more than just a cricketer. She is the daughter of a parched droughtland who dared to imagine rain.
Her journey from Ghuwara’s cracked earth to the lush pitches of the World Cup is a testament to what happens when courage meets opportunity. In her rise, Bundelkhand finds both pride and possibility. And as the celebrations in Ghuwara linger, one can’t help but feel that this is only the beginning—not just for Kranti, but for the many young girls now daring to follow her path.
(The author is a senior journalist based in Madhya Pradesh.)