Royal Challengers Bangalore off-spinning all-rounder Shreyanka Patil has been impressive in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League. She told about her cricketing journey, how she started playing the sport at a such young age, and many exciting anecdotes in a recent interview on the official Youtube channel of the franchise.
Started playing cricket at the age of 8-9 years: Shreyanka
“I started playing cricket when I was eight-nine years old. I was very young at that time. I didn’t know what cricket was then. The hanging ball story is highlighted at the moment because, although it was my dad’s academy, I never got an opportunity to play inside the nets.
“He (her father) was like, ‘Go, just play hanging ball, take catches’. That’s how my cricket journey as such started. It was just hanging ball and fielding. That’s why I love fielding.”
She initially started as a fast bowler but then turned into a leg spinner. The 20-year-old also did wicketkeeping for a while but eventually settled as an off-spinner. She started bowling off-spin just a week before the U-16 selection and never looked back since then.
“Batting was not at all in the picture. When I started, batting was not at all my thing. It’s a very funny thing, I started as a pacer, then I turned into a leg spinner, and that didn’t work.
“I wanted to do wicketkeeping, that didn’t work. The last option was off-spin, and that worked. One week before the U16 selection, I turned into an off-spinner and I got picked for the state. I was like, ‘Oh, this is weird’.”
How she developed her batting skills
Shreyanka Patil said that her tutor Arjun Dev helped her recognize she could develop into a proficient batter. She emphasised that she spent several years perfecting that specific element of her game.
“When I met Arjun sir two or three years back, he was like, ‘You have something in you, and we can work towards your batting as well’. Those two years of my batting journey have become amazing.
“It’s made me believe that I’m a batter, and after that, to be playing No.5 of No.4 in the Karnataka side itself is a big takeaway for me. Now, as you all see, I’m just doing that finishing role, which I am really happy about because I’ve worked towards it.”
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