Last year nobody knew her name. Today franchises are fighting to throw crores at her. Shree Charani’s story sounds like a Bollywood script but it’s real and happening now.
The Auction That Made Her Rich
The bidding started slow. UP Warriorz opened at thirty lakh. Delhi Capitals, the team that gave Charani her first WPL chance, jumped in. UP and DC kept pushing. Seventy-five lakh. Warriorz dropped out. DC looked set to win. Then suddenly Warriorz came back. Ninety lakh. The room got tense.
DC raised their paddle one last time. One crore thirty lakh. SOLD.
That was it. The hammer fell. Delhi Capitals kept their girl and made her one of the richest players in women’s cricket.
World Cup Magic That Shocked Everyone
Let’s go back to June 2025. Charani played her first T20I against England. She took four wickets for just twelve runs. That’s the best ever by an Indian girl in her first match. But nobody dreamed she’d make the World Cup team.
Then she became India’s most important bowler.
Fourteen wickets in the tournament. Only Deepti Sharma took more for India. Fourth highest in the whole World Cup. But here’s what matters – she was the only Indian bowler to take more than three wickets while giving away less than five runs per over. That’s like finding diamonds in cricket.
Australia’s batters couldn’t pick her at all. Five wickets against them in two matches. In the semi-final she tied them up completely. Her left-arm spin looks simple but it isn’t. She changes speed, makes the ball drift, and gets bite off the pitch. That’s why India chose her over Radha Yadav who has played so much more cricket.
Snub That Hurt Her Into Action
The big moment came in 2022. Charani got left out of India’s Under-19 World Cup team. That rejection cut deep. But it also lit a fire inside her. She decided no one would ever drop her again.
Ananya Upendran scouts for Delhi Capitals. She saw Charani in the T20 Challenger Trophy in October 2022. “She was the best bowler in that whole competition,” In an interview with Shashank Kishore from ESPNCricinfo, Upendran said: “Her bowling action was smooth with a high arm. She had brilliant control and bowled quicker than other spinners. The Goa pitches were dead slow but she forced batters to step out. That made her special.”
Upendran couldn’t believe Charani missed the U-19 team. “Her natural control and sense of length stood out. She was tall and strong. She made pace through the air so easily.”
From Tennis Ball to Test Arena
Charani didn’t start with leather balls. She played colony cricket with tennis balls. Back then she bowled left-arm fast. To beat boys with a tennis ball you have to be rapid. She learned that lesson well. When she changed to spin bowling, she kept that speed.
In 2018-19 her Uncle took her for cricket trials in Hyderabad. Age-group coaches spotted her straight away. But not for bowling. Andhra coach Srinivas Reddy says her fielding blew his mind first. “Her speed on the field, the way she cut down angles – that was amazing. Batting and bowling came later honestly. Today you can’t pull her away from bowling. She’s always first to start and last to finish.”
The Shy Girl Who Lets Her Ball Talk
Charani is naturally quiet. She doesn’t like interviews much. Her Delhi Capitals teammates became family. Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey; they all took care of the shy girl who wasn’t comfortable with English. Once she felt safe, her confidence grew.
She loves bowling so much she never wants to stop. Ask if she’s finished and she always says “just one more ball.” Keightley taught her when to stop and how much is enough. But Charani still wants to end every practice with a good ball. That’s the feeling she takes home.
She played many sports as a kid – kho kho, badminton, athletics. But cricket never left her. She played with her uncle, brother, father and sister in her colony. That simple happiness is still with her.
What Scorecards Don’t Show
She has ten wickets in just five T20 internationals. Those numbers are crazy. But they don’t show her cool head. They don’t show how calm she stays when the match is on the line. They don’t show how she fooled batters who have played a hundred matches more than her.
At twenty, Charani can bowl anytime – first six overs, middle period, last overs. That’s rare. She learned this under Reddy’s eyes. The Andhra coach saw something in a rejected teenager and built it into a weapon.
Big Future Waiting For Her
Women’s T20 World Cup is coming in the next seven months. Charani will be key for India’s plans. She is still learning how to handle fame. She is still getting used to cameras. But with ball in hand, she is already complete.
From a girl who thought playing for India was a “long-term goal” in March to a World Champion in November. From uncapped to crorepati. From rejection to celebration.
Shree Charani’s rise is not just a cricket story. It’s proof that sometimes the best reply to being told you’re not good enough is to become impossible to ignore.
