Overview
Pooja Vastrakar is an Indian cricketer who plays for the India women's national cricket team. A right-arm medium-fast bowler and useful lower-order right-handed batter, she is regarded as one of the leading seam-bowling all-rounders in Indian women's cricket. She represents Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket and has featured for several franchises in the Women's Premier League and earlier in the Women's T20 Challenge.
Key Facts
| Full name | Pooja Vastrakar |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 September 1999 |
| Birthplace | Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh, India |
| Batting | Right-handed |
| Bowling | Right-arm medium-fast |
| Role | All-rounder |
| Domestic team | Madhya Pradesh |
| National side | India |
| ODI debut | 2018, against South Africa |
| T20I debut | 2018, against South Africa |
| Test debut | 2021, against England |
Background
Pooja Vastrakar was born and brought up in Shahdol, a town in eastern Madhya Pradesh. She took to cricket at a young age in a region with limited women's cricket infrastructure, training initially with boys' teams before being identified at the state level. She progressed through Madhya Pradesh's age-group structure and entered senior domestic cricket in her teens, gaining attention for her ability to bowl with pace and to strike the ball cleanly down the order.
Domestic career
Vastrakar has been a long-standing member of the Madhya Pradesh women's side, appearing in the senior women's one-day, T20 and inter-zonal competitions organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Her all-round contributions in domestic cricket helped bring her into the national reckoning.
In franchise cricket, she played in the Women's T20 Challenge, the precursor exhibition tournament held alongside the Indian Premier League. With the launch of the Women's Premier League (WPL) in 2023, she was picked up by Mumbai Indians, and was part of the squad that won the inaugural WPL title.
International career
Vastrakar made her international debut for India in 2018 during the home series against South Africa, featuring in both the One Day International and Twenty20 International formats. She made her Test debut in 2021 in the one-off Test against England at Bristol, part of India's return to women's Test cricket after a gap of several years.
She has since become a regular in India's limited-overs sides, valued for her ability to bowl in the powerplay and at the death and to provide quick runs in the lower middle order. She was part of the Indian squads for major ICC events, including the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022 in New Zealand and the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa.
Vastrakar was also a member of the Indian team that won the silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where women's T20 cricket featured for the first time at the Games. She was subsequently part of the Indian squad that won the gold medal in women's cricket at the 2022 Asian Games held in Hangzhou in 2023.
Playing style
As a bowler, Vastrakar relies on pace, seam movement and a hard length, and is often used in the new-ball or first-change role. She also bowls in the closing overs of T20 innings, mixing slower deliveries with cross-seam variations. With the bat, she is an aggressive striker capable of hitting boundaries from the outset, typically batting in the lower middle order.
Timeline
- 1999 – Born in Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh.
- 2018 – International debut for India in ODIs and T20Is against South Africa.
- 2021 – Test debut against England at Bristol.
- 2022 – Member of India's squad at the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.
- 2022 – Silver medal with India at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
- 2023 – Part of India's ICC Women's T20 World Cup squad in South Africa.
- 2023 – Won the inaugural Women's Premier League title with Mumbai Indians.
- 2023 – Gold medal with India in women's cricket at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Significance
Vastrakar's emergence is significant for two reasons. She is among a small group of genuine seam-bowling all-rounders in Indian women's cricket, addressing a long-standing balance issue in the national side. Secondly, her rise from Shahdol, away from the traditional cricketing centres, has made her a visible role model for young women cricketers from smaller towns in central India, particularly in Madhya Pradesh.
Related topics
- India women's national cricket team
- Women's Premier League
- Mumbai Indians (WPL)
- Madhya Pradesh women's cricket team
- ICC Women's Cricket World Cup
- Cricket at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
- Cricket at the 2022 Asian Games
- Board of Control for Cricket in India
References
- BCCI Women – player profiles and squad announcements.
- International Cricket Council – tournament records for the Women's Cricket World Cup and Women's T20 World Cup.
- Commonwealth Games Federation – cricket records, Birmingham 2022.
- Olympic Council of Asia – cricket records, Asian Games 2022 (Hangzhou).
- Women's Premier League – season records and franchise squads.