Shreyanka Patil credits family for stunning cricket comeback

India’s young leg spin bowler Shreyanka Patil finally made it back to competitive cricket after a tough few years. The 23-year-old had suffered a spate of injuries that had seen the player miss a fair amount of cricket. Patil played the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup game, where she bowled three overs for 17 runs and didn’t pick a wicket. Her only big contribution in the game was a diving catch at point to dismiss Rameen Shamim. 

Speaking to JioStar at the end of the IND vs PAK game, the youngster revealed that she had contemplated quitting the game during the injury-plagued phase. It was support from her family that kept her going. “Would be lying if I said that I wasn’t depressed or thought of giving up the game.”

“That’s how it felt initially during the injury phase. There was a voice inside me which urged me to keep going and reminded me why the sport is special, and I loved playing it.” Her first injury was during the Women’s Asia Cup in 2024, followed by shin splits on both her legs, a thumb fracture and wrists facing stress reaction. 

Young spinner from Karnataka, though, credited her family for helping her come out of this phase. “Couldn’t give up on something I loved doing the most. Kept my head held high, and my father and the rest of my family kept speaking to me and supported me. It was a strong support system and was surrounded by great people.”

India hoping for star spinner to get back to best form 

Despite going wicketless against Pakistan on Sunday, there is no doubt that Harmanpreet Kaur will have full faith in her star bowler. Shreyanka showed enough promise and composure to put pressure on the batters just when the opposition had got a great start. 

In the end, it was Deepti Sharma’s 5/10 that swung the game in favour of the Women in Blue. The next match against the Netherlands could see the RCB star come back to her best form with the ball. Yet another win will put the Indian eves right in the favourites bracket for the T20 World title. 

Speaking to JioStar, the young player added that she loved bowling in the powerplay overs, since she loved absorbing the pressure. She also wanted the team to go game by game during the tournament in a format riddled with uncertainties and surprises.