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As the women’s cricket teams of India and Bangladesh were preparing for their first T20I in Mirpur on Sunday afternoon, away in Mananthavady in Kerala’s Wayanad district, the Mani family suddenly came alive. Relatives and neighbors gather around the balcony. Local MLA OR Kelu, municipal advisors and news channels all attended. The moment the mountain city had been waiting for was just around the corner. Minoo Mani, the pride of Wayanad, was about to make history, becoming the first female cricketer from Kerala to play for India’s senior team.
“Mino had told us earlier that it was very unlikely she would get a chance in the first game. However, around 10:30 am she called us and said she would be in the playing eleven and asked us to pray for her. She immediately alerted all the neighbors and well-wishers, And they came here to watch the match with us,” said Mane, the daily betting operator.
Although it was an international game, there was no broadcast of the match and everyone watched the Bangladesh Cricket YouTube channel on their phones to watch Minnu perform on the biggest stage of her career so far.
On the field, Minoo, 24, took her hat from her favorite player, Smriti Mandana. One of the newcomers to India was Minoo – Paredhi Anusha being the other. After India opted to field, the non-spinner entered the bowl, with her cap on, inside the powerplay itself.
Bangladesh’s opening opener Shamima Sultana hooked Minoo with a six followed by four in the second and third deliveries from the fifth. Unaffected, she still floated the next ball, apparently slower than the previous two pastimes, and made a wrong right-handed shot. Sultana skated a sweep straight into Jemima Rodrigues at the deep square leg. The first wicket made the day sweeter for Minoo, and the attendants at her home in Mananthavady as a proud Mani and his wife Vasanta opened the box of sweets.
“It’s hard to explain the joy we have. She worked so hard all these years to play for India and then got the first wicket herself. What more could we ask for? The whole city was elated,” said Mane.
Minoo could have taken another wicket in her second over, but Pooja Vastrakar missed a difficult catch at short square leg after Sobhana Mostary missed her catch. It finished with respectable figures of 3-0-21-1 as India restricted Bangladesh to 114/5 and later chased down the target at 16.2 for a seven-wicket win.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur was impressed with the way Minoo and Anusha, who are left arm spinners, played the Powerplay. “I wanted to see how they would go down in the first six overs and then two overs later. They both bowled well. They understood the circumstances early on. It shows how keen you are to play for the team.”
From the Korichia tribe of Wayanad, Minoo earlier in the year became the only player from Kerala to join the English Women’s Premier League (WPL) as she was bought by Delhi Capitals for ₹30 lakh. However, she only got three games into the season in a star-studded squad that includes the likes of Shafali Verma, Rodrigues and Meg Lanning.
Early reluctance
Mane admitted that at first he was not fond of Mino playing cricket. “I knew nothing about cricket, and thought it was a men’s game, played only by rich people. Her teacher Sama at Mananthavady Government Vocational Secondary School directed her focus towards cricket and took her to the Wayanad district coach, Sir Chanavas.
“But once she started moving up from one level to the next, thanks to my Kerala Cricket Association women’s academy coach and Kerala women’s team coach Suman Sharma, I tried to help her fulfill her dream and arranged money for her travel and coaching needs. Many well-wishers lent me money to support her over the years,” Mani said. , who credits his daughter’s determination above all to her rise, it’s a moment for me to thank them all — Minoo commutes 42 kilometers one way a day, and hops four buses, to train at the KCA Stadium in Krishnagiri during the off-season.
Manny Mino’s father. (express photo)
Suman Sharma, who has coached the Kerala women’s team for many years, believes Minoo can become one of the best all-rounders in the country. “She’s very athletic and a great player. She can both attack and defend with the bat. She just needed a little bit more exposure at the top level for that tension and fear to go away, and she can be good across the board for India across the formats. I’m so glad she started so well,” Sharma said. Good for India.”
Mino’s parents have not yet seen her playing live on the floor. “Mino’s biggest wish now is to take us to play abroad. She said she would prepare the passports for us. If she continues to play for India, we hope we can make that trip one day,” said Mane.
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