Back in 2014, Sneh Rana was one of the most promising cricketers in India. Despite being very young, she was handed her T20I and ODI cap, and she seemed destined to make a decent fist of her career. Just as she began growing in stature, though, her progress was shunted by a serious knee injury – one that kept her sidelined and cast her into the periphery.
In the world of intense competition, some of her younger peers – the likes of Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav established themselves in India’s white-ball setup. Experienced bowlers like Poonam Yadav and Rajeshwari Gayakwad also grew from strength to strength, meaning that Sneh’s career, which began brightly, was veering towards ‘unfulfilled potential’ territory.
Over the past couple of years, however, the bowling all-rounder has done everything in her power to propel herself back into the reckoning. She performed consistently in the domestic circuit, and ultimately earned a recall to the national side during India’s tour to England in 2021.
She hasn’t played a lot of matches since but the fact that she has become a permanent feature in the squads India have put out, hints that she is firmly in the team management’s thinking.
Sneh is an off-spinner by trade – an off-spinner who likes to bowl attacking lines outside off stump and is not afraid of flighting the ball, even when batters are looking to increase the run-scoring tempo.
On occasions, it has led to her being expensive but she has always remained steadfast in her approach. To add further context, she has conceded runs at an economy rate of 5.15 since her recall in 2021, but she has picked up six wickets in seven matches too.
She can also be a very handy batter lower down the order – something she illustrated on her Test debut when she cracked a majestic (and unbeaten) 80-run knock against England. That essay, apart from telling the world what she is capable of, was also a proclamation that she knew how to handle pressure.
The problem, as far as this Women’s World Cup is concerned, is that her skill-set is very similar to Deepti Sharma's – an off-spinner who is a more accomplished batter. Deepti also provides a left-handed batting option, meaning that chances could be hard to come by for Sneh.
However, if the Women In Blue decide to beef up their lower middle order, they might not find a better alternative than Sneh. Not only can she grab the game by the scruff of the neck, she has enough shots in her repertoire to be a dangerous batter towards the end of the innings.
Thankfully for India, Sneh has experience of waiting for her opportunities and making them count. In fact, she has been doing that ever since being marred by a knee injury in 2016. For a lot of time, it was believed that she would never don the Indian blue again. But here she is, back in full flow and chomping at the bit to leave her mark.
Her inclusion in the playing eleven can’t be guaranteed at this moment. Yet, if it does come to fruition, you can bet she will be ready for it.
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