Kiran Navgire was once a javelin throw national gold medalist who is looking to go big in the Women's T20 Challenge.
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Touted as a hard-hitting batter Kiran Navgire did not get her chance to show her prowess in the inaugural fixture for Velocity in the Women’s T20 Challenge on Tuesday as India opener Shafali Verma notched up 51 runs off 33 deliveries to take her side over the line against Supernovas at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune. But her wait to prove herself at the big stage might only bring out the best in her. So who is Navgire and what do we know about her?
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Cricket happened by accident for Navgire as she had already forayed into athletics. The Mire village-native, nearly 200km south-east of Pune, found solace in javelin throw, shot put and 100-metre sprint. But a newspaper article of her bagging a national gold medal in 2012-13 brought a change in her career. A social worker from Mire, Savita Hora, decided to enroll her to the Shardabai Pawar Women’s College in Baramati after reading the newspaper. It offered her a bachelor’s degree and free boarding at the college hostel.
But along with that, Navgire started to play cricket, besides continuing with athletics. “The cricket scene is nearly non-existent in Mire, but kho-kho, kabbadi, and athletics are quite big,” Navgire told espncricinfo. “My father has always been very passionate about athletics in particular, and I remember him telling me once, ‘Give athletics a try, for my sake.’ I used to be a sporty kid growing up, so I got into athletics in the fifth standard in school. My coach used to send me in at Nos. 8-9, so I didn’t think much of myself as a batter, but I loved hitting sixes, so I’d always be on the lookout for opportunities to bat higher and bat longer.”
Navgire’s six-hitting prowess could be inspired by former India captain and prolific finisher MS Dhoni. She, in fact, considers the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain as her cricketing God. She has etched her WhatsApp status as “Cricket god MSD” followed by four kiss emojis. “I only ever wanted to play cricket because I dreamt of hitting sixes like Dhoni,” she said. “A lot changed for our country, and me personally, when MS Dhoni hit that six to win the [2011] World Cup.”
