WPL 2024: A game-changer for the Indian team, Deepti Sharma looks to make a mark for UP Warriorz

In November, 2014, Deepti Sharma donned the India cap for the first time, in a Women’s One-Day International against against South Africa in Bengaluru.

On Saturday, 10 years after her international debut, at the very same venue, she will be wearing a different uniform as she walks out to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium as part of the UP Warriorz team in the second edition of the Women’s Premier League.

Sharma, 26, is among a generation of Indian internationals who have played through different eras of women’s cricket.

“Initially, we [the Indian women’s cricket team] could not fight in the match, in every series we played,” said Sharma to Scroll. “If I talk about the initial days, after my debut. But now we fight and we take the match till the end.”

For Sharma, this has been the biggest change in women’s cricket. From not being able to make a dent in proceedings to finally making a stand, ready to compete and fight for wins.

This change in attitude was displayed during India’s tour of England back in 2022 when Sharma herself was at the centre of a rather heated debate on the spirit of cricket.

Against the backdrop of veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami’s farewell game, Sharma ran out non-striker Charlie Dean who was on course to script a match-winning innings...

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