CHENNAI: 2022 was the year Deepti Sharma saw it all. For the all-rounder, the year started with some return-to-form show against New Zealand, a crucial role with the ball in the ODI World Cup before the heartbreak against South Africa in the final moments.
But that was the lowest point for Deepti in 2022. Since then, she has only moved onwards and upwards, especially in the shortest format. Once Harmanpreet Kaur took over as all-format captain, Deepti was trusted with the role of the finisher in the Sri Lanka series. Safe to say, it has worked out well for both team India and the all-rounder.
In 2022, Deepti had her best year as a T20 batter with 370 runs in 19 innings at a strike rate of 136.02. To put it into context, her previous best year as a T20 batter was 2020 when she averaged 31.6 while striking at 100.63.
Contrary to her batting role, Harmanpreet has gone to Deepti during all phases. The 25-year-old has been the skipper’s most trusted lieutenant. Her ability to bowl in all phases and take wickets while still keeping things in control is what makes her one of the best off-spinners in the world. And this is without even mentioning the glorious moment she had at Lord’s in Jhulan Goswami's farewell match.
One doesn’t need to look beyond the numbers; 38 scalps in 29 matches since the start of 2022, including nine wickets in the five matches of the recently concluded tri-series featuring hosts South Africa and West Indies. The end result? Deepti is now the No 2 ranked T20I bowler and all-rounder in the ICC rankings. That the names above her are Sophie Ecclestone (bowler) and Ashleigh Gardner (all-rounder) sums it up.
For any athlete to up their game in such a manner is no mean feat. She had to put in a lot of hard yards behind the scenes to get where she is. “I worked on my hard hitting a lot. The practice sessions before the Commonwealth Games and after the Australia series (at home), it helped a lot. The work out (routine) is the same, but I have been batting with different balls — heavy weight balls, soft balls, cosco balls — for power hitting. I also tried to get my timing right (rather than muscling). And I think that has helped a lot,” Deepti said during the tri-series.
While Deepti had done her part to be ready for the role she is playing for India right now, one of the things that has been a constant over the last six months is that she has been consistently slotted in the lower-middle order, which hasn’t been the case before. In the past, Deepti has been constantly moved up and down the order depending on what the team needed, but now she seems to be finally settling into a specific role.
| Deepti Sharma record in T20Is | ||||||
| M | Runs | Avg | SR | Wkts | Eco | |
| Till 2021 | 57 | 495 | 20.62 | 90.16 | 58 | 6.12 |
| Since 2022 | 30 | 419 | 38.09 | 135.59 | 38 | 6 |
As someone who has played with her for a long time and seen her grow over the years, Jhulan feels the same. “She has done everything in the batting line-up,” the former India captain told this daily. “Whenever India need someone to fill the role, Deepti is ready to do it. She has opened, moved up and down, but now, from what I see, she is used as a finisher to accelerate in death overs and she has adapted beautifully. Initially, she was a touchy player, she has changed that also. Team wants her to do that and she has taken that responsibility of playing those shots, converting ones into twos and threes. That is the commitment she has to the team. She will not say no to anything the captain or the team management asks her to do.”
With India's T20 World Cup campaign getting underway on Sunday, Deepti's role and contribution for Harmanpreet & Co. is going to be all the more crucial as they aim to go one step further than 2020. While there is very little doubt over her form with the ball, with Richa Ghosh, she will have to provide all the firepower India needs in the middle-order. In fact, like the 2017 WC — where she made 216 runs and 12 wickets — she is likely to be the X-factor for India in this tournament.
"She has always been a very crucial member. Whenever the management is making a team, I think her name comes at four or five. Everyone knows how much value she brings to the team. Particularly in the T20 format, you need such valuable players and for India, Deepti is that player," Jhulan signed off.