The air was filled with ecstasy and joy on Wednesday as Andhra Cricket Association administrators gave a warm welcome to 16-year-old Sneha Deepthi, who was selected for the senior Indian women’s team.
She will play for the country in one-day internationals and T-20 fixtures against the touring Bangladesh team from March 31 to April 12. Incidentally, the Visakhapatnam girl has created a record by being the first player to be in the national team from the ACA.
Earlier, Guntur’s M.S.K. Prasad and Visakhapatnam’s Y. Venugopala Rao played for India seniors. Sneha Deepthi was part of the South Zone team that finished second after winner Central Zone in the just-concluded all India junior women (u-19) one-day limited overs tournament at Guntur.
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“All our efforts to develop women’s cricket is paying dividends and Sneha’s selection is one small step. We have more players like S. Meghana, R. Kalpana and Jhansi Lakshmi, who are knocking at the doors of the Indian dressing room,” said ACA secretary Gokaraju Ganga Raju.
Thrilled by the overwhelming performance by Andhra players in the national championship at Guntur, ACA gave Sneha Deepthi Rs. 50,000 cash award while S. Meghana, R. Kalpana, Sudha Rani and Chandralekha were given Rs. 25,000 each. The association also granted Rs. 50,000 to groundsmen at the women’s academy at the JKC College.
The ACA director M.S.K. Prasad said that Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was happy with the manner in which women’s cricket was developed in Andhra region and it has made the ACA the headquarters for the Indian women’s cricket. “It is an honour for us. From now onwards we have extra responsibility to develop the country’s women’s cricket,” Mr. Prasad added.
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South Zone, which finished the runners-up in the all India junior women (u-19) tournament at Guntur, had five Andhra players.
* Sneha is first Andhra woman player to don Indian colours
* ACA grants cash awards to top players
* BCCI gives a special status to ACA
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