It’s a new start for me as I was eagerly waiting for this opportunity for a long time: Cricketer Taniya Bhatia

Taniya Bhatia was named in the 16-member Indian women’s cricket team for the three-match ODI series against South Africa to be held there next month.

tania bhatia, women cricket team, south africa odi series, indian women crickets, chandigarh cricketers, punjab, women team wicket keeper, indian express

Taniya Bhatia’s (right) parents, brother and sister at their home in Chandigarh on Wednesday. (Express Photo by Jasbir Malhi)

SEVEN YEARS ago, Chandigarh cricketer Taniya Bhatia had created history by becoming the youngest woman cricketer to play for the Punjab senior team at the national level. On Tuesday, the 20-year-old wicket-keeper batswoman was named in the 16-member Indian women’s cricket team for the three-match ODI series against South Africa to be held there next month.

“It’s a new start for me as I was eagerly waiting for this opportunity for a long time. I had some good seasons earlier but had a low patch in between and missed the Indian team for last year’s World Cup. But being in the probables camp for the World Cup helped my game a lot. Sushma didi is the main wicket-keeper in the team and if I get a chance, I will aim to perform to my best. South Africa has bouncy pitches and the ball comes hard on the bat. So, I need to practise keeping in mind the conditions in South Africa. We will have a training camp, too, and I will aim for a good performance in the Indian colours,” said Bhatia, who currently studies BA-II at MCM DAV College for Women, Sector 36.

Bhatia started playing cricket at the age of seven and also trained under former Indian cricketer and Yuvraj Singh’s father Yograj Singh at DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8. She created history when she became the youngest player at the age of 13 to play for the senior Punjab team in the inter-state domestic tournament in 2011. The youngster was a regular feature in the Punjab senior team and even captained the U-19 North Zone side in the inter-zonal cricket tournament in Guwahati in 2015 where she also scored 227 runs and accounted for 10 dismissals. The youngster was also named among the 30 probables for the Indian team for last year’s World Cup. She also played for India A against Bangladesh last November before she scored three half centuries in the U-23 inter-zonal tournament. “The three half-centuries in the U-23 inter-zonal tournament boosted my confidence. Playing against the Bangladesh A side also helped my game. Although I will be playing under Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet didi in the Indian team for the first time, I have played with them before. Harmanpreet didi used to tell me that I will come into the Indian team one day and also told me to concentrate on my batting. Punjab coach RP Singh sir also helped me a lot,” said Bhatia, who also studied at DAV Model School, Sector 15.

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Taniya’s father, Sanjay Bhatia (48), branch manager at Central Bank of India, Sector 44, also played cricket at the all India university level. Taniya is the second of three siblings between elder sister Sanjana and younger brother Sehaj. “ What I could not achieve my daughter has achieved today. She was seven years old when she started playing cricket and my wife Sapna would drop and pick her from the Sector 8 Academy daily and later from the Sector 36 Academy. Today’s selection is the reward for all those efforts.”

R P Singh said, “I talked with her today and it is a perfect time for her to play for India. She has been concentrating on her batting and also showed her wicket-keeping abilities for India A and the challenger series.

Nitin Sharma

Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story ‘Harmans of Moga’, Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women’s cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin’s interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More

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