Telangana’s Trisha Gongadi who smashed historic century, had no takers at recent WPL auction

Trisha Gongadi, who created history in Women’s T20 World Cup (U-19), played for Hyderabad under 16 State team at the age of nine.
| Photo Credit: Handle @ICC on X

The leap of joy was understandable when she crossed the magical three-figure mark against Scotland in the Super Six encounter of the on-going Women’s (under-19) T-20 World Cup on Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur. For, the 16-year-old Trisha Gongadi has created history by becoming the first centurion in the championship history!

The best part being her father G. Ramireddy was there at the venue to join the celebrations.

For someone who was ‘unsold’ in the recent high-profile Women’s Premier League (WPL) which was a huge disappointment, opener Trisha’s brilliance with the bat could well be a reminder of her immense talent, if one needed it.

First memory of watching cricket match

Like for thousands of young talent across the country, the unforgettable six by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to signal India’s triumph in the 2011 World Cup final, Trisha was no different for that was the first memory of her watching a cricketing match on tv.

Life changed dramatically once her parents shifted from her hometown Bhadrachalam to Hyderabad to let Trisha pursue her passion for the game.

And, luckily, she joined St. John’s Coaching Foundation, a centre which produced the likes of VVS Laxman and moulded the raw talent of someone like Mithali Raj. At the age of nine she played for Hyderabad under 16 State team

She played fearlessly, with great timing: Trisha’s first coach

Trisha’s first coach P. Srinivas (more popular as Srinu) of St. John’s recalled that the moment she saw her knocking in the nets, they could sense that spark of rare talent. “She played fearlessly and with great timing all those shots,” he said.

Significantly, the coach ensured that there was no tampering with her original batting and the only advice to her was to switch to leg-spin from pace and the results are there for all to see – she was already a member of the 2023 World Cup (under-19) in South Africa.

Mithali Raj’s suggestion

One of the important suggestions she got was from former India captain Mithali Raj who felt that the then 12-year-old Trisha, despite her consistency, should not be rushed to the seniors grade. “Let us not hurry up. She will go to places. Mithali told us,” Srinu recalled. For sure, Trisha is determined to scale new heights!