The left-arm spinner, who was once dropped from the Bengal side, has used the WPL as a launchpad to make a national bow.

CHENNAI: When Saika Ishaque received her India cap from captain Harmanpreet Kaur moments before the first T20I against England at Wankhede on Wednesday, the joy on her face was enough to express what it meant to her. Slightly behind her was Shreyanka Patil, the other debutant, who was cheering on with a beaming smile on her face. The two spinners who were the highlight of the inaugural Women's Premier League were making their India debuts on the same day.

While Shreyanka's coach Arjun Dev was watching from the stands, thousands of miles away in Kolkata, there were two people who were overjoyed by the success of Saika. Mithu Mukherjee and Shibsagar Singh. Former India cricketer Mithu had no words to express their emotions and Singh was overwhelmed by the shining moment of Saika. After all, the two of them had played a big role at a crucial point in Saika's career when almost left the sport.

Having come up through age-group cricket at the domestic level, Saika was a household name in Bengal cricketing circles. However, a shoulder injury meant things went downhill fast and she was dropped from the state team. That is when the left-arm spinner got in touch with Mithu who put her in contact with former India Under-19 and Bengal cricketer Singh. "It was a complete U-turn, there was a phase where nothing was going her way. She was dropped from the Bengal team and suddenly things changed. We worked on her action, wrist position a bit, but mostly it was about the lines she had to bowl for different batters and situations and not just keep bowling good length and go searching for wickets," recalls Singh.

Saika with coach Shibsagar Singh. (Photo | Express)

She was getting back on track, her confidence went up as the coach constantly made her practice against male cricketers who were playing at the state level. The instruction was to take her on, and despite being hit, Saika developed variations and adapted for different situations. While the results started to show in domestic cricket, the left-arm spinner was nowhere near the national radar. The two factors that became the turning points were the WPL and Jhulan Goswami. 

Now, having seen her from the start, Goswami, who was with the Mumbai Indians, played a hand in Saika getting a chance in the inaugural season. "She came back and was playing well, but was not getting noticed. Many people know she is a good player domestically. At the same time, she needed someone to tell. Jhulan knew her talent from the start and how smart she was. That was a massive plus otherwise you don't know whether she would have got picked or not," says Singh.

Once she got the chance, Saika made the most of it, taking 15 wickets in ten games, helping Mumbai Indians win the title. Such was her performance that she was the only Indian spinner in the top ten wicket-takers. Immediately, the limelight was on her and everyone was tracking her bowling. She took the confidence into the domestic season and finished as the leading wicket-taker in the senior women's T20 Trophy — 18 wickets in nine games. Another eight wickets in five Inter-Zonal games meant she had earned her India call-up. 

"We don't know if she would have moved up the ladder so fast if not for the WPL. It is such a platform like IPL, the entire country watches you and the platform is such that many players are from overseas and she dismissed most of them. What she achieved in that 20 days, after that her confidence has grown. That is why the tournament changed her life," said the coach.

2023 has been a big year for Saika. For someone who once had to stop their studies because of financial constraints, it was Saika's success in cricket that helped her family come up. Her late father introduced her to the sport, but since then she has been the breadwinner for the family, helping her mother and elder sister, for a long time now. Today, Saika is an Indian international cricketer. "It is a massive, massive thing for her family. Her father passed away, and she is the sole breadwinner, but she has always had the confidence that she will play (for India). The thing about her is she is not afraid. She never is," says Singh who is working with Bengal U23 women's team.

On her debut, Saika finished with 1/38 with England posting 197/6. In reply, India fell short by 38 runs. While the figures aren't something that makes one sit up and notice, Singh feels this is just the beginning. 

"This is just the first match, so nerves might have been there. Put her in any situation, she will say 'no worries, I will take care'. To have that confidence is something. I feel she will play long for India. All she has to do is repeat what she has practiced all these years," the coach signed off.