CHENNAI: WHEN Amanjot Kaur walked onto the field at the SSN College Ground, Chennai on January 7 for Team E during the senior women's one-day challenger Trophy clash against Team A after an eight-month injury layoff, she did not feel nervous. Instead, Kaur was grateful to be back on the field. It was when a back stress fracture and a ligament tear in her hand put her out of action in April 2024, Kaur realised how much the sport meant to her.
Like most players, recovery was not easy either. With so much time to kill, the mind may play havoc. Kaur had to adapt and started doing chores like making salad, painting and watching movies to keep herself busy and occupied during rehabilitation. And when she finally made a comeback, the Punjab all-rounder unleashed herself like never before.
Even though her team did not make the final, she impressed with her bowling in the senior challengers and went on to play a crucial part in Mumbai Indians winning their second Women's Premier League title. An India comeback followed in Sri Lanka where she took back-to-back three-fers in the ODI tri-series. Now, Kaur is in England, hoping to make a mark as a genuine all-rounder in all three departments in the five T20Is and three ODIs that begin on Saturday.
“I am very excited but I have to control my emotions,” Kaur told this daily ahead of the England tour in May. “I have to bowl according to the conditions and the team's requirements. It's not like if the conditions are good, I have to overdo with my swing. I want to continue from where I left in Sri Lanka and not leave it behind. No point in doing it in bits and pieces. I am very excited.”
While it has been a memorable six months for Kaur, the road to getting to that point in Chennai began mid 2024. When the 24-year-old injured her hand during the Bangladesh tour in April 2024, it did not feel as bad. Even the MRIs and scans showed a grade two tear, but the pain was immense. It was only when she did an ultrasound, Kaur realised that her ligament got folded at the joint because of which she could not extend her hand. Coupled with the back pain she felt during training, Kaur reported to the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. She was not able to move properly.
“For a couple of months, I had to be on bed rest. I did not know what to do with all the time I had. I was cranky. The initial period was very tough. My family doesn't understand cricket. The injury was a big setback for them. We are in the circuit, so we know that the injury is part and parcel of the game. But my family did not get it. They think that there are six or eight months and there are so many other young players and someone will come in. They think from a different point of view,” the 24-year-old explained.
This is what Kaur’s father Bhupinder Singh felt: “It is difficult when she couldn’t play for eight-nine months. When you have nothing to do, sometimes you get low or depressed, not knowing whether you will get a chance in the future. But she had a lot of faith and courage.”
Knowing how the family felt, Kaur spent most of the time at the CoE whenever possible. Once she realised the only way to get better is to go through the process, Kaur made personal goals in terms of her fitness as well as other things. And she stuck to it. “What I can do to get better, how to get fit, how to make a difference and what I need to do to get there... I wrote it all down. I told my trainers what I need. My trainer Tanuja Lele and I decided that we would workout twice a day. If I did a workout in the NCA then we took a break for 8-9 hours. Even if we had to go to the gym at 1 in the night, because the hotel gym is accessible 24x7, we did workouts at 1 at night. We utilised it very well. We planned a very good diet and got very good results. Nagesh (Gupta, her coach) sir will be on call with me. My trainer was checking on me all the time.
“I used to talk to folks at home and then go for a walk. Soon, I started preparing my own salad in my room, and kept myself busy by painting and watching movies. The free time was so much that I could not pass the time initially. But as you kept yourself busy I started adding a lot of things like painting, watching Netflix, binge-watching. I did not leave anything. I used to watch everything,” the Punjab all-rounder said.
All the hard work she had put in during rehab meant Kaur was more than ready when she was back on the field. It showed even during the WPL pre-season camp which pushed Mumbai Indians team management — Charlotte Edwards, Jhulan Goswami, Devika Palshikar and Kiran More — to use Kaur more with the ball unlike the first two seasons. She bowled 17 overs and took five wickets — contrary to the cumulative five overs in the last two seasons — and added some crucial 128 runs in the lower-order. Kaur desperately wanted be a genuine all-rounder and contribute in all three departments.
When the India comeback followed in Sri Lanka, she was trusted with the new ball duties and Kaur delivered, taking three wickets in both the games she played. “I have never bowled a new ball for India. It was new for me. But I am very confident about bowling. I have the skill and the pace. I know how to create an opportunity or how to get breakthroughs. I knew how to bring the run-rate down, and how to slow down the game. I had a slower ball. I had a wobble seam. My plans were always ready. We got a little swing and on top of that you get a little nip from the wickets. The ball used to drift inside. The old ball was also very safe. It was very helpful if you hit it on the wicket,” the MI star explained.
Even as an important challenge awaits her in England, Kaur is not satisfied. She believes her best is yet to come and he wants to be that “pure all-rounder” who could make the team both as a batter and bowler. With the injury, which was hindering her bowling, out of the way, she is hungry for more.
“After the injury, I told Nagesh sir that I can do better. That this is not me. I know that I have to deliver more for the team, but it is not happening. I kept saying we are missing something. You are playing for India and you are not able to do as much as you are capable of. I don't want to underperform with my calibre. I always told him that this is not enough.
“If you want to play this much, anyone can play. What is the difference between me and others? I have seen Nat Sciver-Brunt and Ellyse Perry and what they do for their teams. Like Annabel Sutherland, all three of them are brilliant in the field. They never let anyone get ahead. These players have set a high standard for all-rounders. If I become like her and play for India, I might be able to turn more matches in our favour. I know that I can be an asset who can bowl as a pure bowler and bat as a pure batter. So I wanted to perform as a pure all-rounder,” said a determined Kaur.
The first step towards that would be giving her everything in all three departments whenever she takes the field in England. Expect nothing less from Amanjot Kaur 2.0 because she is back and is hungry for more success
