G. Kamalini – The accidental cricketer on the fast lane to stardom

At the Chennai International Airport a few days ago, a gaggle of television cameras set up shop and began the usual drill — checking all equipment, dragging the worn-down podium into position and strategically arranging microphones to best display their organisations’ logos.

An inevitable guessing game followed. Whose arrival was the preparation for? Was it a politician? One could hear someone whispering that it was an actress flying back after a vacation.

When G. Kamalini walked out, barely visible behind the mountain of bags she was pushing, the cameras began rolling while passers-by looked on wondering why there was so much fuss about the diminutive kid who looked like she would rather be away from all the flashlights.

ALSO READ | Maaya keen to hone her skill at the Rafa Nadal Academy

The women’s game in India has increasingly commanded the attention of the nation with achievements like a second-consecutive U19 World Cup title being celebrated with much fanfare. Arriving in Chennai a little over 48 hours after the final, Kamalini stood by her family and patiently indulged the press.

Nearly three hours passed before Kamalini could begin her journey home where her favourite chicken biryani lay waiting. Celebrations aside, the family wanted to feed their famished daughter who didn’t have the best culinary experience in Malaysia.

“I didn’t like the food. I used to eat pancakes and fruit in the morning. In the afternoon, I used to eat a rice dish I don’t even know the name of,” she revealed, in a chat with The Hindu.

The 16-year-old, now well-fed and reasonably rested, recalled the World Cup triumph and the party, which involved cake, chips, coca cola and dancing till 1am, with glee.

Bright lights, big city

It was all well deserved. Kamalini was the third-highest run-getter (143) in the tournament, in a sport she took up purely by chance. A skater until the age of 12, cricket was a lockdown pastime as she began to bowl to her brother, Dominic Kishore, in the nets at their home in Madurai.

Seeing her aptitude for the game, Kamalini’s father Gunalan decided to invest time and money in his daughter’s career. The intimate and largely traditional confines of Madurai couldn’t accommodate the pair’s big ambitions and the family decided to relocate to Chennai.

“When we moved to Chennai, I didn’t know what was happening. But I knew that I liked cricket and what I wanted to do. My father took the decision to move as the cost of travelling between the cities was greater than just shifting to Chennai. I just told my dad to do what he thought was best,” she recalled.

For Kamalini, though, the first memories of staying in Chennai were not very pleasant.

“Initially, my mother was in Madurai and I was in Chennai with my father and brother. The first place we lived in was the most horrible place I have ever seen. But we had no choice as we had to stay to play in the ground there. After that we moved back to Madurai.

“Later we took the decision to move to Chennai and it has been three years since the move. I had some language issues initially since there was a difference in the Tamil dialect spoken in Madurai and Chennai. Over time I got over that and also made many friends here.”

The switch

Kamalini’s father has much to do with a lot of foundational decisions his daughter took in her early years in the sport. One of them was the right-handed Kamalini opting to train as a left-hand bat.

“My brother and I were playing in the verandah one day. We are both right-handed and in the game, we had to play left-handed. When he served underarm, I played the drive very well. Then my brother told my father that I was playing the [left-handed] drive superbly and that he should try me as a leftie. The very next day my father told me to play left-handed. I did and have never looked back.

The teenager is comfortably ambidextrous, and not just in cricket.

“I bowl with both my left hand and right hand. I write with my left hand and also my right hand. The only thing I don’t do well with my left hand is throwing.”

A fortuitous coup de maître, in hindsight.

Concealed grief

In 2023, Kamalini moved up to the Under-19 level and immediately showed her mettle. She hit 311 runs in eight matches to help Tamil Nadu triumph in the Under-19 domestic tournament in October. She followed that with a dazzling 79-run knock in the final of the U19 Tri-Series against South Africa A. Having earned a call-up to the Indian squad to feature in the U19 Asia Cup, everything was falling into place for the youngster. But things soon unravelled after her father suffered a massive heart attack, needing open-heart surgery thereafter.

A weak heart notwithstanding, Gunalan lost sleep over how to keep his daughter’s dreams intact. His transport business and financial bearings were impacted by his hospitalisation. More importantly, he was not with Kamalini guiding her through the gears of cricket.

ALSO READ – On playing Afganistan | When sport is politics by other means, self-interest is key

A decision was taken by the entire family to keep Kamalini in the dark about everything.

“When it happened, I was not at home, I was playing for my State. My mother and brother did not tell me anything. ‘Father is very well, he will be discharged soon’ is what they kept telling me. I didn’t have any information beyond that. Only after my father fully recovered did I get to know more details, that he went so close to death and returned,” she recollected.

“I was angry as to why they didn’t tell me everything before, but they sat me down and reminded me what I was doing at that moment, and how I would have performed had I known the full details. I was angry but I also understood why my mother did what she did.”

Gunalan would agree that he was living his childhood dreams through his kids. A lack of support from his family had forced him to give up his cricketing aspirations.

He turned that disappointment into a stubborn drive to give his kids everything they needed. Kamalini’s family’s sacrifices kept fanning the flame of her passion for cricket. It was not enough to bat well or chip in with some off-spin. Kamalini veered towards keeping too.

“Wicketkeeping came naturally to me and I like it a lot. As I grew older, I was being asked if I was a wicketkeeper or a bowler. In one Under-15 domestic tournament, I bowled in two matches and kept wickets in the rest. In the Under-19s, I bowled in the T20s and was wicketkeeper in the 50-overs.”

Her U19 coach Nooshin Al Khadeer had an important role to play in Kamalini persisting with keeping duties.

“At the World Cup, Nooshin ma’am asked me if I knew why she was making me a keeper. Being quick is one reason, but she said that I also keep the team together. I accepted it and began to fully focus on wicketkeeping, even more than I did on my battling. It actually helped my batting and improved my concentration and ball-eye coordination.”

Mumbai calling

Kamalini went to Malaysia for the U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup as a superstar. Her versatile stroke selection, footwork and enviable attitude help her set every stage participation on fire.

In the auction preceding the 2025 edition, Kamalini was registered at a base price of ₹10 lakh, Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians then sparred for rights to get the highest bid, with MI eventually having the last laugh – one worth a staggering ₹1.60 crore.

That’s more than half the ₹2.65 crore purse money MI had when they sat down for the auctions.

Kamalini has a wise head on her shoulders. While excited about getting picked by MI for WPL 2025, Kamalini is also very mindful about making the most of her chances without setting any big expectations. The past few months have involved the company of some of the biggest names in the women’s game in India. The youngster though is unfazed. No unnecessary respect.

ALSO READ | Cricket takes a leap into the unknown with half a billion pounds

“I do not have any favourite women cricketers and I am not saying it with any attitude. I can’t be like Smriti [Mandhana], Smriti is Smriti. I can only be myself. Everyone says I play like Smriti, but we both have our own styles, I can’t play like her.”

So how about the men?

“I like Steve Smith and Chris Gayle. I like Smith’s stance and I love the left-handed Gayle’s hitting power. And, of course, my first favourite is my brother.”

Her career so far has been like an endless teaser campaign for a product that takes the market by storm. Picking up cricket, becoming a left-hander, and donning the gloves – everything has been by chance, or divine intervention depending on how you want to see it.

The technical expertise has been a happy by-product but Kamalini is well and truly on the path to greatness.