Extremely happy to be picked by Mumbai Indians, says  Kamalini

Tamil Nadu all-rounder G. Kamalini, who was signed by Mumbai Indians for ₹1.60 crore in the WPL mini auction in Bengaluru on Sunday, said she didn’t expect to go for such a hefty amount.

Speaking to The Hindu from Kuala Lumpur, an excited Kamalini said, “I am extremely happy to be picked by the Mumbai Indians. I had gone for trials thrice. I didn’t expect to be picked for such a huge amount.”

Welcoming

“When I went to the Mumbai Indians trials, I found the ambience and the atmosphere to be very positive and encouraging and made me want to be a part of the team,” she added. The 16-year-old sparked a fierce bidding battle between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals Women, with the former outbidding the latter, starting at a base price of ₹10 lakh.

After her recent performances in the domestic tournaments, Kamalini emerged as one of the most in-demand players in the auction pool.

Big game

The southpaw, who has the ability to hit huge sixes, was the second-highest run-getter (311, eight matches) in the under-19 T20 tournament which Tamil Nadu won.

Kamalini, a wicketkeeper-batter who can also bowl leg-spin, has had rigorous training at the Super Kings Academy in Chennai.

Kamalini expressed her gratitude to legendary India cricketer Jhulan Goswami, mentor of the Mumbai Indians Women and former India wicketkeeper Kiran More, the team’s manager.

“I am really thankful to my parents and my elder brother for their tremendous support in my cricketing journey.”

Earlier on Sunday, Kamalini’s unbeaten 29-ball 44 (4×4, 3×6) helped India canter home against Pakistan in the U-19 Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur.

Anticipated interest

MI Head Coach Charlotte Edwards highlighted her belief in the youngster’s talent for the forthcoming WPL.

“It was one name that kept coming up in all of the meetings in the last two or three months. We needed a backup for Yastika (Bhatia) and a left-handed option in the middle-order.

“She is young, so we anticipated interest. So we needed to have that purse handy. We hope she will be with us for a long time, and we can’t wait to have her in our set-up.”