I wanted to write this yesterday, but I found it hard to write what it meant to me. Yesterday, (30th June) marked the debut of Veda Krishnamurty. I remember reading about her a few days back before she could make her debut. There was a report about her telling that she could be India’s big star. I don’t remember the exact words, but one thing that stuck in my mind was she was vice-captain for Karnataka and her athleticism, fielding stands out.

Indian cricketers always had a weakness when it comes to fielding, now, that made me curious to watch out for her and also, those days, where there was limited newspaper coverage about women’s cricket, a few words about a player would certainly make you watch out for her.
I then remember watching the news channel and they spoke about how 18 years old Veda Krishnamurthy scored a fifty on her debut. However, India lost that match. Still, I was glad that she was proving herself out there. I remember reading about her scores and closely following her for a year or so where she couldn’t make a lot of impact with the bat. While reading the paper or watching the news, I always made my mind that she would have made a difference with her fielding.
It was 2012, I remember reading about India’s first win at the Lords’. I was glad to find her name again but this was not for the batting but for the bowling. She removed Heather Knight. A few days later, she picked up two wickets against the same opponent. It felt different to see her name under the bowling charts instead of batting. Still, I would take it at that time. It was super special anyway.

Now, India is full of talent. A single bad performance could cost you the place and the same happened. While it was understandable, it was difficult for me as a fan. I had to wait for years to see her for the first time and the first match I saw live was against my favourite team the White Ferns. She went on to score a fifty in that match. I couldn’t explain how happy I was. After that, there were highs and lows in her career and right from 2015, I’m super glad not to have missed any match that had relay. I would pray before matches that she would contribute in any of the way possible. Of course, there was a fair share of disappointment. I was just glad to watch her bat.

It’s been nine years already. I feel like I grew up watching her career closely. Oh, I do miss those days where the anxiety of opening the newspaper just to read the scores. At the same time, I’m thankful that I can actually watch her play on Television. Maybe, someday, I might get an opportunity to meet her. It is on my bucket list for years. Well, I’m sure it will happen someday (oh yes, also I would love to interview her for penbugs.com soon :P)