In T20 World Cup squad,Anuja promises a good show

“It was a great surprise to me,” says Patil. “Training alongside players like Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore was a great experience and now I have been found worthy enough of playing alongside these players.”

Her selection triggered celebrations at the Patil household.

She started playing cricket when she was in class eight. She says she never thought about playing any other sport. “My father and my uncle were very active club cricketers. They encouraged me to take up the game and when I first played it,I just knew this was the sport for me,” says Patil.

Patil,an off spinner who is useful with the bat in the lower middle-order,is relishing the responsibility handed to her in the World Cup squad. “Every cricketer dreams of playing in a World Cup. I have been handed this opportunity at a young stage and want to play an important part in India’s world cup campaign,” said Patil.

No stranger to competitive cricket,she played for the Maharashtra under-16 team when she was just 13 years old and made steady progress up the age groups,turning out for the under-19,under-22 and the West Zone under-22 teams. What makes her rise more remarkable is that she has captained each of the teams she has played for.

In 18 T20 matches for Maharashtra,Patil has picked up eight wickets at a tidy economy rate of 6.08. She has also scored a half century each in Twenty20 as well as 50-over matches.

“I definitely would love to captain India one day but right now I am just hoping that I put up a good show in Sri Lanka and justify my selection,” says Patil.

She says she is looking forward to enjoy the experience of being a world-cupper. “I have played the Challenger trophy earlier. So I know most of the players. There is no senior-junior divide in the team and everyone is looking to perform well for India,” says Patil.