CHENNAI: The last six months have been nothing short of a dream for Shweta Sehrawat. In January, she was at the forefront of India's title-winning campaign at the first-ever U19 Women's T20 World Cup as the highest run-scorer of the tournament. She was signed by UP Warriorz in the inaugural Women's Premier League auction, and opened the batting with Australia's Alyssa Healy at the packed DY Patil Stadium over the next couple of months. And in June, she captained India A to triumph in the Emerging Asia Cup in Hong Kong.
However, if one had known enough about the teenager, none of this would come as a surprise. After all, two years before she would become part of India's U19 World Cup squad, Sehrawat had a poster that read, "World Cup Champion!", in her room.
At 19, Sehrawat finds it all surreal, but believes this is just the beginning of what is ahead of her. "Yeh to bus shuruwat hai (This is just the beginning), like the WPL tagline," she laughs in a chat with this daily. "I have learned a lot from the senior players in the WPL. It was the first season for everyone. Jon Lewis (UP Warriorz head coach) gave me the confidence to trust my shots." Warriorz could only get to the eliminator of the WPL, but Sehrawat believes the foundation will help her in the future. The Emerging Asia Cup reunited Sehrawat with her U19 World Cup-winning coach and former India international, Nooshin Al Khadeer. "She has a terrific game sense. She reads the game very well and that helps in the decision-making." Along with the coach, seven members of the U19 side joined the captain for the Asian Cricket Council event. There were some new faces as well, including Shreyanka Patil and Kanika Ahuja. In the opening match of the tournament, with the overcast conditions, India opted to bowl first against the hosts Hong Kong. "We looked at the weather conditions for the whole week and made the most of the conditions in the first match. For Shreyanka to come and take five wickets on her debut was wonderful for us. You always remember your debut performances and I was happy for her." After that dominating victory by nine wickets in the first match, India had to play the waiting game with the torrential rain in Hong Kong. Two of their group-stage matches and a semi-final against Sri Lanka got washed out. But a superior run-rate helped the side qualify for the final. "It was frustrating to see the matches getting cancelled, but I was happy we made it to the final," Sehrawat added. In the final, Ahuja's all-round performance and Shreyanka's four wickets made the difference for India to win the event. Heavy rain after the victory dampened India's celebration, but Sehrawat added another title to her name in 2023.With two trophies already in her bag, Sehrawat has eyes on the upcoming domestic season. “I want to perform well in domestic and help win trophies for my team.” She has her eyes on representing India in the home ODI World Cup 2025. And the poster for that is in the making.
