It was a big day for Keerthana Balakrishnan as she became the first cricketer from her state Tamil Nadu who got picked to play in the Women’s Premier League 2024. On Saturday, the defending champions Mumbai Indians roped her in at her base price of INR 10 lakhs in the auction. Keerthana, who is an all-rounder was among the five players snapped by the Mumbai-based franchise. The likes of Amandeep Kaur, S Sajana, Fatima Jaffer, and former South Africa fast bowler Shabnim Ismail were also picked in the auction.
Talking about Keerthana, she started her cricket career under the coaching of TS Mukund who is the father of veteran batter Abhinav Mukund, at his academy. She primarily plays as a wrist spinner who can bat as well and score crucial runs coming down the order.
TS Mukund trains young cricketers from lower society for free and also provides cricket equipment for his students. Keerthana comes from a humble family background as her father is a taxi driver. As of now, she has played for four teams which include Tamil Nadu Women, Indian Green Women, South Zone Women, and Orange Dragons Women.
Back during the 2021-22 Freyer Cup, she collected 102 runs at an average of 34 and a strike-rate of 86. She also scalped 3 three-wicket hauls while playing for Tamil Nadu Women in One-Day tournaments.
After Keerthana got picked in the WPL auction, veteran India player Dinesh Karthik was elated and even went on to wish the Tamil Nadu player on his social media handle. He wrote, “Keerthana's father is a call taxi driver. I am so happy to see such cricketers getting the recognition and opportunity to play in such a high-quality tournament”.