Shree Charani: The plastic bat girl who became India's left-arm spin answer

At a time when the India women were struggling to find a decent left-arm spinner, Shree Charani came as a solution to the issue. And she continues to show her skill during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 by being the leading wicket-taker with seven scalps in two innings at an average of 5.71 and a fine economy rate of below five at the best bowling figures of 4/19 in an innings.

During India's women’s clash against the Netherlands at Leeds in Headingley, Shree Charani picked up three wickets in the 17th over of the defense. She was even on a hat-trick and gave away just one run to pick the three wickets in the space of six balls. Aged 21y 317d, she became the third-youngest to pick 4-fer in the Women’s T20 World Cups.

The former Australia batter and current assistant coach of the Delhi Capitals (DC), Lisa Keightley, captured the incredible drive of the spinner from the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025. Every time in the nets, she would ask her ‘Lisa mam’ to let her bowl one more ball in the practice session.

The reel gained attraction when her impressive T20I debut against England in late June of 2025 saw her pick up 4/12, which became the best figures by an Indian debutant. In the two games that followed, Shree added four more wickets in the bag.

Her bowling has been so impressive that even at an average of just 21 years, she was picked for the World Cup squad in England and Wales, which was just a year after she made her debut in the shortest format.

From backyard nets to the Blue jersey — How Shree Charani's unconventional rise began

Shree Charani’s quick rise to the Indian cricket team had its roots in her uncle’s mid-day hobby of playing cricket. Kishore Reddy, her uncle, used to work at the Rayalaseema Thermal Power Station (RPTC), which is nearly 35 km away from his native place. That’s a small village in Kadapa district, as he used to stay at his uncle, Charani’s father, Chandra Shekar Reddy’s place in the RTPP quarters.

Kishore’s routine was quite normal. He used to head to work at 9 in the morning, returning home at around 11, and then playing cricket till 3 in the afternoon, and returning to the office post the lunch break. They hardly had any wild dream of how the hobby of Kishore would turn out to be the foundation of Charani’s India dream.

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When the youngster was in Class III, she began playing with her Kishore mama at their home with the plastic bats. It was followed by playing in the quarter grounds with the players way above her age.

When she was in Class X, Charani’s physical education instructor at school, Naresh, brought her to Hyderabad for the selections at the SAI training centre in Gachibowli.

“She was very good at playing Kho-Kho. She also played badminton and did 3K running. She got selected there for athletics, and she used to practice. MSK Prasad (former Indian selector) sometimes used to come to the academy. When Prasad and others saw her skills, they advised her to pick cricket.” Charani’s uncle said in an interaction with the ‘Indian Express.’

Why India women were desperate for a left-Arm spinner — and how Charani filled the void

Charani’s father wasn’t interested in her daughter leaving athletics and opting for cricket. However, thanks to the reference from a player at the GHMC cricket academy, she went to the former Ranji Trophy player, Marripuri Suresh, who was the coach of the academy at that time.

Moreover, the Andhra Pradesh-born, despite limited professional coaching, had superb consistency and accuracy. She used to bowl quickly with the tennis ball, as the Andhra head coach, Srinivas Reddy, was delighted at Charani’s ability to generate the same amount of pace with a short four-step run-up as the left-arm spinner.

At the age of just 20, Charani has already proven her skill to bowl across different phases of the game. It was an ability she had learned over the past few years under the guidance of Andhra coach Srinivas Reddy.

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The turning point finally came in 2022, when she was left out of the U-19 World Cup squad for the Indian women's side. That snub lit up the fire within the youngster.

“She played very well at the district (Kadapa) level. She used to bat at five and six, also came to bowl after fast bowlers were done, and even sometimes took the new ball. In her first year, she used to score 50s-60s and also picked up 4-5 wickets regularly.” The Andhra coach added in the interaction with the Indian Express.

The spinner was picked up for the state side at the Under-19 level, and the Andhra team would go on to play the semis. And Charai’s sudden spike in her game caught the eye of national selectors in 2022.

The former Hyderabad women's captain and the lead scout of DC, Ananya Upendran, remembered being captivated watching the kid, Shree Charani, bowl during the T20 Challenger Trophy in October 2022, which happened a few months before the very first U-19 World Cup.

“I was actually quite surprised she didn't make the U-19 World Cup squad. What stood out to me was her natural control and understanding of length, even if she was still figuring out how to vary her pace. Physically, she was tall and strong, which helped her generate that pace through the air.” Upendran informed ESPNcricinfo about the Indian spinner.  

How did Shree Charani perform in the WPL and domestic cricket before her India call-up?

In March 2026, Charani made her debut in the WPL for the Delhi Capitals Women (DCW) against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). In the 2025 season, she featured in just two games and ended up with four wickets. That was the moment when her India dream was just a long-term goal, as a month later, she received her ODI cap from Sneh Rana in Sri Lanka. 

Her fearless approach has always been her biggest strength. During the training of the WPL, she leaned on the calm approach of Meg Lnning, who spoon-fed her guidance with honesty. It was clear that the youngster slowly started to get used to the big stage.

On receiving her WPL cap from Jess Jonassen, Charani wasn’t nervous but clear-headed and focused. Both the Mumbai Indians (MI) and DC tussled to sign her and were eventually signed for INR 55 lakh.

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Charani’s rise came at a crucial juncture with two World Cups to be played in a span of 12 months. She slowly started to learn the interview languages and the post-match commitments along with her special bowling performance.  

The deliveries that made selectors stop and watch — Shree Charani's defining moments

One of the best deliveries for Charani was during the semifinal of the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 against Australia at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, when she picked up two vital wickets of Beth Mooney for 24 runs and Annabel Sutherland for three runs.

On the final delivery of the 34th over of the first innings, Mooney got out caught at extra-cover as the batter fell to Jemimah Rodrigues. The batter came down the track and looked to go inside-out extra cover, but failed to get the proper timing and gave a simple catch to the fielder. 

In the next over of the spell, the spinner dismissed Sutherland. The batter got forward to drive but couldn’t keep the bat down and gave an easy return catch to the spinner as India wrestled back some control with two quick wickets.

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Charani has featured in 21 innings of the Women’s ODIs and picked up 27 wickets at an average of 38.18 and a decent strike rate of 40.2 with an economy rate of 5.68, thanks to the best bowling figures of 3/41 in an innings.

In the shortest format, she has added 35 wickets in 22 innings at an average of 17.28 and a strike rate of 14, with the economy rate of around seven.

“That's one of the great things about the Capitals environment - you've got people like Jess Jonassen, Annabel Sutherland, and Meg Lanning, who are always willing to help younger players. Even if the younger ones are hesitant to approach them, the seniors often take the initiative themselves. That kind of culture really helped Charani.” Upendra addressed the quality of the spinner.

For the 2024/25 season of the game, Shree Charani won the award of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as the best debutant of the international cricket in the women’s game. That was a proud moment for her and the family.

Shree Charani’s story of her rise as India’s left-arm spinner- FAQs