Big payday for Asha after two decades of toil
NEW DELHI: Just last year, Asha Sobhana was not sure if she could ever play cricket again after getting injured. In what can be considered as a surreal tale, Asha has made quite a turnaround. On Wednesday, the Kerala all-rounder was signed for `1.1 crore in the Women's Premier League auction here. The figure is the highest for any player from the state in WPL history.
Understandably, it was a joyous occasion for Asha and her family, who were closely monitoring the auction on TV from Thiruvananthapuram. UP Warriorz and Royal Challengers Bengaluru were involved in a bidding war for her before the former sealed the deal. S Sajana, who was signed by Mumbai Indians for `70 lakh, and Minnu Mani (Delhi Capitals, `40 lakh) are the other players from the state who went under the hammer.
Last year, Asha was staring at uncertainty after getting injured during the T20 World Cup in Dubai. She had undergone an ACL reconstruction surgery and spent several months in rehab and she had plenty of doubts if she could ever play the sport again.
"It was a very difficult time both mentally and physically," Asha told this daily. "I was not walking either. It was me, my rehab and my room; that's all for the next 6-7 months. Every day, I used to think, 'Should I keep playing?'. I didn't understand what to do. The physios really pushed me. Every day, they kept on talking to me," the leg-spinning all-rounder added, crediting the BCCI CoE physios, her trainer and coaches.
Nine months later, she made a comeback in October for Kerala in domestic T20s, taking 14 wickets and scoring 106 runs in seven games. Throughout this time, RCB kept in touch with her and even arranged matches after she came back from CoE. After all, it was RCB who signed her for `10L in the first auction three years ago and Asha had repaid their faith by playing a crucial role in their 2024 title win.
After 19 years of toil and struggle, with little returns until the WPL came along, this is now her highest payday from the sport. Asked what it meant to have such a reward, Asha struggled to find words. "How do I say this? I'm very happy. I just wanted to enjoy that moment. I never thought about a prize or anything. Of course, I wanted to play WPL. My mom and everybody were praying, congratulating me. God has been kind," she said.