CHENNAI: When G Kamalini landed in Chennai on Tuesday evening after Tamil Nadu lost to Karnataka in the women's U23 quarterfinal two days ago, little did she knew the evening would turn into an unforgettable one. The 17-year-old got her maiden India call-up for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka.
Emotions engulfed the Gunalan-Saranya household. Tears of joy overflowed, hugs were exchanged in jubilation. "I couldn't believe it," an ecstatic Saranya, Kamalini's mother, tells this daily. "I was very happy and emotional. Both of us hugged each other and kissed each other. I was very happy. I can't tell you how happy I was. What else can I say? All we wanted to do is shout and enjoy ourselves."
This call-up comes on the back of a stellar performance in the U23 T20s. The keeper-batter smashed 275 runs in six matches, averaging 55 with a strike rate of 138.88 as Tamil Nadu reached the quarterfinals. With Arundhati Reddy already donning the No 20 (Kamalini's usual No in domestic and WPL teams), the 17-year-old will sport No 16, birthday of her brother Domnic Kishore.
Saranya struggles to put words to her emotion. "She got a call about jersey number shortly after she landed, but we got to know only when the squad was announced," an elated Saranya says. "At 16, she made her WPL debut and now at 17, she has gotten the India call-up. It is a great opportunity for her. It is a reward and recognition for her father's hard work and pappa's (our daughter's) talent. I am very happy. I don't have any words to say," she adds.
Indeed, this moment is the culmination of the dream manifested five years ago in Madurai during Covid has finally come true. Back then, Gunalan had a net for their son Kishore, giving him throw downs and on one such Covid lockdown evening, a 12-year-old Kamalini wanted to bowl and thus the journey began. Fuelled by the dream and the fire that was ignited within, father and daughter used to travel to Chennai for training and matches. "We used to train what was called Drone in Thoraipakkam and then became a part of the CSK academy,” Gunalan had told this daily earlier. Soon, she became a prodigy in Tamil Nadu cricket. She became a part of the U15 and played for the U19 team that won the T20 title. She did well in the quadrangular U19 series and played a part in India's U19 T20 World Cup title win earlier this year.
For all the struggles, physical, emotional and financial, they faced, Gunalan and Saranya never gave up. Not even when they had their share of health issues. And Kamalini repaid the faith with performances which led to their life-changing day at the Women's Premier League auction. In late 2024, she was picked up by Mumbai Indians for `1.6 crore.
“For all the hard work over the past five years, it was a gift from god. All her wishes and dreams came true. When I was in hospital last year, she came to visit and was in tears. Two days later, she scored a century for TN. She is a courageous girl, it makes me very emotional. I cried a lot of happy tears on the day of the auction,” Gunalan had said when she was first picked by MI at the auction. Saranya had said that she wasn't sure if they would have been this happy the day she was born.
Kamalini played a part in the title-winning campaign for Mumbai Indians earlier this year. She was one of the five players they retained (for `50 lakh) before the mega auction last month. And now the India call-up comes as the crowning moment.
This, however, was just the beginning. For the 17-year-old is going to live the dream of herself and her father, playing for India for a very long time.
Squad: Harmanpreet (C), Mandhana (VC), Deepti, Rana, Rodrigues, Verma, Deol, Amanjot, Arundhati, Kranti, Renuka, Richa (WK), Kamalini (WK), Sree Charani, Vaishnavi
