Punam Raut is an Indian cricketer who plays for the India women's national cricket team. A right-handed top-order batter, she is known for her technically correct batting style and has been a regular member of India's One Day International (ODI) line-up. Raut has represented India across formats and has played a notable role in domestic women's cricket in Mumbai.
| Full name | Punam Ganesh Raut |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian |
| Role | Top-order batter |
| Batting style | Right-handed |
| Domestic team | Mumbai (women) |
| National team | India women |
| Formats | Test, ODI, T20I |
Raut hails from Mumbai, Maharashtra, and developed her cricket through the city's competitive women's cricket structure. She progressed through age-group and senior domestic cricket in Mumbai before being selected for the national side.
Raut has been a long-standing member of the Mumbai women's cricket team in tournaments organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), including the senior women's one-day and T20 competitions. Her consistent run-scoring at the domestic level was central to her promotion to the India squad.
Raut made her debut for India in international cricket as a top-order batter and has featured in Tests, ODIs and T20Is. She is most identified with the ODI format, where she has often opened the innings or batted at first drop.
One of the highlights of Raut's career came at the 2017 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in England, where she was a key member of the Indian side that reached the final. She scored a century in the final against England at Lord's, contributing significantly to India's total in a match that England eventually won by nine runs.
Raut has scored centuries in ODI cricket, including against South Africa during a home bilateral series, underlining her ability to anchor long innings. She has been part of Indian squads for ICC global events and bilateral tours across formats.
Raut is regarded as an orthodox, technically sound batter who relies on classical strokeplay, particularly off the front foot. Her game is built around occupying the crease and constructing innings, making her well-suited to the demands of Test and ODI cricket.
As part of the generation of Indian women cricketers who reached the 2017 World Cup final, Raut contributed to a period that significantly raised the profile of women's cricket in India. Her century in a World Cup final remains a notable individual performance in Indian women's cricket history.