Inspired by Virat Kohli and Meg Lanning, Vrinda Dinesh set for big jump after career-changing WPL auction deal
For Vrinda Dinesh, Saturday, December 9 was special. Prior to the Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction, the 22-year-old was an unknown entity.
But after the auction, the youngster has grabbed a lot of attention. She became the third-most expensive player after UP Warriorz shelled out INR 1.30 crore for her.
Vrinda looks up to the legendary Virat Kohli and former Australian captain Meg Lanning as her inspiration. However, she named Alyssa Healy as her current favourite. Interestingly, it is Healy whom she will be playing under in the second edition of the WPL.
Vrinda lauded Healy, also the newly-appointed Australia Women’s skipper, for her stroke-making and destructive batting.
“I have looked up to Virat Kohli and Meg Lanning, but Alyssa Healy is my new favourite. I just love the way she bats and how destructive she is,” Dinesh was quoted as saying to India Today on Sunday, December 10.
Vrinda rewarded after hard work
Vrinda played in the Emerging Asia Cup where she came in as a replacement for fast bowler S Yashasri. However, it was in the Women’s Senior T20 Trophy that she grabbed eyeballs with her ability to play big shots.
Vrinda played eight matches for Karnataka in the tournament and scored 211 runs at an average of 35.17 and a strike-rate of 154.01. The right-handed batter said that hard work over the last two years has paid dividends for her.
“To get to the stage where I have been hitting now, it took me two years when day in and day out, I tried to work on my strokes and develop a lot more shots. I feel that’s what has got me here today,” she added.
After the T20 trophy, Vrinda did not stop and went on to rack up 348 runs from six matches in the Women’s Senior One Day Trophy with two hundreds and two fifties to her name.
As far as playing in the WPL is concerned, rubbling shoulders with the likes of Healy, Grace Harris, Danni Wyatt and Sophie Ecclestone is expected to help her grow further as a cricketer.