Vaishnavi Sharma took her omission from the women’s T20 World Cup squad in stride, saying she still has a lot to learn and a lot of cricket ahead of her. After playing a key role in India’s U-19 World Cup triumph, she made her senior debut last December in the home series against Sri Lanka, picking up five wickets at an economy rate of 6.26 in as many matches.
Vaishnavi was also part of the tour of Australia but did not get a match and was later left out of the squad for the tour of South Africa. The 20-year-old spinner said she wasn’t too concerned about the insult, adding that gaining more experience would help her improve.
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“I believe it’s fine, if it hasn’t happened yet, there’s no problem. Everything is part of God’s plan. I still have a lot to learn and there’s a lot of cricket ahead of me. It’s just the beginning and we can get a lot more experience. Whatever happens will be for the best,” Vaishnavi said at an event in New Delhi.
‘IDENTIFICATION OF STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES’
In the spin department for the World Cup and England tour, India went with Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav and Shree Charani. Among them, Radha is returning to the T20I set-up for the first time since July 2025. Vaishnavi said she is focusing on keeping calm, staying calm and understanding her strengths and weaknesses while constantly learning and growing.
“Right now, my goal is to focus on my mental space, find some peace, stay calm and understand myself better. I want to work on identifying my weaknesses and strengths and learn as much as possible about myself,” Vaishnavi added.
Apart from the T20Is, Vaishnavi also played a solitary ODI against Australia in Hobart last February where he conceded 34 runs in four overs at an economy rate of 8.50. She went unsold in last year’s Women’s Premier League mega auction, but got her chance later as a replacement for G Kamalini. Vaishnavi appeared in three matches and picked up only one wicket.
However, she made an impact in domestic cricket, finishing as the leading wicket-taker in the 2025–26 Senior Women’s T20 Trophy with 21 wickets from 11 matches for Madhya Pradesh.
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Issued by:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published on:
May 4, 2026 7:23 PM IST
