Guwahati: Hailing Mumbai Indians’ all-rounder Jintimoni Kalita as one of the rising stars in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), former India cricketer Reema Malhotra predicted that a lot of girls from the North East, particularly from Assam, will be seen playing for the various franchises soon.
The 42-year-old former Delhi cricketer, who played a couple of seasons for Assam, is highly impressed with the 19-year-old Mangaldoi girl’s potential and expects her to come good for the blue brigade in the next few games of the cash-rich WPL.
“India and MI captain Harmanpreet Kaur rates Jintimoni very highly, and the franchise is backing her in the ongoing WPL. I can tell you that the young all-rounder is one of the players to watch out for in the WPL. In the next few years, we’ll have several girls from the Northeast, especially from Assam playing in the WPL,” WPL expert Reema told EastMojo in a round table discussion organized by the JioCinema and Sports18 for selected journalists, on Friday.
Reema, who featured in a solitary Test, and 41 WODIs and 22 WT20Is during her 10-year international career that started in 2003, has happy memories from her brief stints in Assam.
“I had a very good experience of playing and captaining the Assam women’s team for two domestic cricket seasons, and the best part was that the team came out successful under my leadership,” she said.
“Assam has been one of the few states in India which takes their cricket very seriously. Assam has been investing a lot in their cricket even in the past and more so in the present. As far as facilities are concerned, Assam has been at the forefront in providing the right kind of exposure to the players.”
“During our times, the state cricket association used to hold camps throughout the season, and more importantly ensured that girls from far-flung areas were properly taken care of with regards to providing them accommodation, so they don’t have to waste their time and energy in travelling,” she added.
Reema, who retired from all forms of the game in 2020, appreciated the Assam Cricket Association’s (ACA) positive approach of inviting professional cricketers to guide the local players in the team at a time when not many state teams were interested to invest in women’s cricket.
“The ACA has always aimed at forming a champion team and keeping that in mind, they started hiring professional players from other states. Before I joined the Assam team in 2013, Devika Palshikar, the current Mumbai Indians coach, spent a lot of time with the side and started the homework, to gradually transform the side into a formidable unit. Not many states at that time invited professionals to guide the local players,” she said.
“If you look at the current side, they have been doing well in domestic tournaments. Monikha Das has been one of the finest players from Assam who went on to play in the Challengers Trophy. Now, Jintimoni Kalita is another emerging player from the state,” she explained.
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Reema, who was part of the 2009 and 2013 World Cups, however, feels that the state has managed to successfully produce individual talents but still needs to work on a few areas to click as a team.
“All this while Assam has managed to produce individual talents, what they need to focus on now is to click as a team. Assam has the players, set-up, and more importantly a culture where the women’s team is treated at par with the men’s side, and the way Assam has invested in women’s cricket, it’s only a matter of time before they are away from winning a title,” the cricketer-turned broadcaster said.
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