Who is Shraddha Pokharkar? 5 interesting facts about RCB's newest signing for WPL 2024

Ahead of the second edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), the Royal Challengers Bangalore named Shraddha Pokharkar as a replacement for Kanika Ahuja, who was ruled out of the tournament on Monday, February 19, due to an injury.

Pokharkar is a like-for-like replacement for Kanika, being an all-rounder, and has been roped in by RCB at the reserve price of INR 10 lakh. 21-year-old Ahuja represented RCB in the tournament’s inaugural edition in 2023.

Kanika Ahuja grabbed the spotlight in WPL 2023 and it did not take her long to earn an India call-up. She received her T20I debut cap during India’s victorious Asian Games campaign ahead of the match against Malaysia.

Later, she found a spot in India’s playing XI in the third T20I of the three-match home series against England in December 2023, marking it as her career’s third international match.

Pokharkar, on the other hand, has been a regular face in Maharashtra’s domestic team. Having gotten the opportunity to represent RCB at the WPL 2024, she will try to put her best foot forward to fulfill her dream of playing for the Indian national team at the highest level.

Pokharkar’s recent outings for India D and Maharashtra have been noteworthy, having registered figures of 2/8, 1/18, 1/19, 2/21.

On that note, let’s look at 5 interesting facts about Shraddha Pokharkar:

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#1 Pokharkar was RCB’s net bowler in WPL 2023

The all-rounder has previously been part of RCB’s setup as a net bowler and has now found her place in the main squad. Though she has not been a part of the team on the field, she has already been around the players once which will make her time easier.

RCB had a dismal outing last year and failed to make it to the playoffs, finishing fourth on the points table with four points from two wins and six losses. They’d be hoping to turn their fortunes this time around.

Pokharkar, meanwhile, would be looking forward to learning as much as possible from the senior Indian players as well as the international players while sharing the dressing room with them.

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#2 She has been a net bowler for India in T20Is

Shraddha has also been a part of the Indian women’s national team as a net bowler. When Australia toured India for a five-match T20I series in December 2022, Pokharkar was a part of the side, helping the batters in the nets.

Though Australia won the series 4-1, the second T20I, where India bagged their sole victory of the series, went down as a historic match. The contest witnessed the Indian women’s team playing out a super over in T20Is for the first time, eventually winning the game in a thrilling fashion.

Speaking of Pokharkar, she has experience playing in the domestic setup and the 27-year-old also witnessed how things pan out on the international front. All these experiences will help her ply her trade at the RCB camp.

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#3 Represented Trailblazers in Women’s T20 Challenge tournament

Shraddha, who will be playing under Smriti Mandhana’s captaincy at RCB, has already been teammates with the Indian vice-captain. The all-rounder represented the Trailblazers in the Women’s T20 Challenge Trophy, the three-team tournament which was played for four seasons before the WPL commenced.

Pokharkar and Mandhana have also played together while representing Maharashtra in the Senior Women’s T20 League. The duo share a good bond and settling in the RCB camp will surely be made easier for Shraddha. She also lavished praises on Mandhana and her ability as a leader back in 2022.

“The fact that Smriti led and gave the team a lot of confidence. She allowed each and every player to express themselves on the field and encouraged us to play fearless cricket. I learned many things from her including field settings, strategies, etc. We enjoyed each other’s company and didn’t even realize that we had reached the finals. Smriti kept the team environment very relaxed,” Pokharkar had said in an interview with Female Cricket.

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#4 Pokharkar trained at the Vengsarkar Cricket Academy

Shraddha Pokharkar, 27, had not played cricket with a leather ball until she was 20. She used to play cricket with a tennis ball during her school days. She continued pursuing the sport and put up noteworthy performances playing for D.Y. Patil in her first year of college.

It was during that time when her friends suggested she take the sport seriously. Backed by her performances in the inter-college tournament, Pokharkar enrolled for the selection trials at the Dilip Vengsarkar Cricket Academy in Pune in 2017.

That was the first time she played with a leather ball, and impressed Mohan Jadhav, who then became Pokharkar’s first coach. Her journey in cricket started at the Dilip Vengsarkar academy, and Shraddha, to date, remains grateful to the former India cricketer for providing her with the opportunity.

“I can’t thank Vengsarkar sir enough for giving me a platform,” Shraddha had told The Times of India in 2022.

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#5 Registered 3/38 representing Maharashtra’s senior team

In an interview with Female Cricket, Shraddha Pokharkar revealed that her favorite performance in Maharashtra’s outfit was the one against Baroda in the 2019-20 Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy.

In the game, played in Pune, Pokharkar was given the new-ball duties and finished with three scalps. The right-hander conceded 38 runs and completed her quota of 10 overs, which included two maiden overs.

In the interview, she mentioned:

“My favorite performance so far has been the one that came against Baroda in Pune during the senior women’s one-day tournament in 2019-20. It was just my second match for the Maharashtra senior team. I opened the bowling and picked up 3-38 in 10 overs, including two maidens. Yastika Bhatia was one of the three scalps that I took that day.”