The emerging pace sensation of the Indian women’s team Renuka Singh Thakur has been adjudged the Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year 2022 by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Renuka was India’s find of 2022, especially in the shortest format where she succeeded in picking up wickets consistently and also played a key role in the Women in Blue making the finals of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Just when India looked for someone to fill in the big shoes of veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami after she bid adieu to international cricket in 2022 and with senior pacer Shikha Pandey not being in the scheme of things of the selectors during the majority of 2022, Renuka Singh took the onus of being the new spearhead of the Indian team’s pace department.
A dream start for Renuka Singh Thakur in international cricket
In the year gone by, Renuka Singh Thakur has emerged as India’s most reliable pacer in white-ball cricket especially in the T20Is with her outstanding ability to bamboozle world-class batters.
In 2022, the 26-year-old finished with 18 wickets in Women’s One Day Internationals averaging 14.88 and an economy of 4.62. She also succeeded in registering 22 T20I scalps to her name at an average of 23.95 and an economy rate of 6.5. Thus, the emerging pace sensation took 40 wickets in 29 white-ball matches.
Renuka’s best bowling performance in 2022 came against Australia during India’s CWG 2022 opener where she bagged a four-wicket haul. Thakur finished with figures of 4/18 in that contest as she accounted for the likes of skipper Meg Lanning, Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney and Tahila McGrath. She bowled 16 dot balls during that excellent spell.
India enjoyed an outstanding campaign in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and finished as the silver medallists going down to Australia in a close finale.
Renuka Singh Thakur beat the likes of compatriot Yastika Bhatia, England’s Alice Capsey and Australia’s Darcie Brown to win the award. (Agencies)
