WPL Auction: Tribal girl Minnu Mani reaps handsome rewards for her efforts

A tribal girl from the Mananthavady foothills in Kerala’s Wayanad district made the unpopular choice more than ten years ago in order to pursue a career in cricket, a sport she held dear to her heart. When Minnu Mani, 23, was selected by Delhi Capitals for Rs 30 lakhs at the auctions of the inaugural Women’s Premier League in Mumbai, she took a significant step towards attaining her ambition.

“I haven’t seen 30 lakh rupees ever in my life. I can’t describe my emotions right now,” Minnu told TOI from Hyderabad, where she is representing South Zone in the inter-zone tournament.

For Minnu, the path hasn’t been simple, though. Her father Mani CK works as a daily wage labourer in Choyimoola, Wayanad, while her mother Vasantha is a stay-at-home mother. Minnu’s family is from the Kurichiya tribe. When she was ten years old, she began playing the game at the nearby paddy fields with boys and cousins.

When she enrolled in grade 8 at the Government High School, Idapaddi, she began to take cricket seriously. Elsamma Baby, a physical education teacher, was her mentor. Elsamma accompanied Minnu to the Wayanad District Under-13 team’s selection trials after recognising her talent. However, her parents disapproved of the concept of her playing.

My father worked irregular hours. At first, they made an effort to dissuade me from participating by telling me that cricket was for for guys. They only agreed to let me participate in the trials after much persuasion. However, they had a change of heart and started to support me totally the minute I was chosen in those trials and afterwards chosen for a junior girls’ state camp at the KCA Academy, Thodupuzha, as Minnu recalls her introduction to the sport.

When she was 15, she advanced to the Kerala U-16 team, and a year later, she was a member of the senior team for the state. For Minnu to pursue her ambition of playing cricket, she had to overcome a number of challenges. The KCA Stadium in Krishnagiri was the closest practising site to Minnu’s house. “When I’m at home, my day begins at four. I help my mother prepare meals for me. My home is around an hour and a half away from the Krishnagiri stadium. I switch between four buses to arrive at my practise location at nine because there is no direct bus service from my location to Krishnagiri. Around seven o’clock in the evening, I return home, exhausted “informs Minnu.

However, Minnu’s trials didn’t end there. “My dad borrowed money from his friends to help play in the initial years. When I started earning by playing I helped him repay the loans and built a small house for my family. That’s when the floods struck and destroyed a large portion of my home. Thanks to cricket, I have managed to rebuild it now,” said Minnu.

Minnu has played for India ‘A’ and India Blue in the Challenger Trophy and has been a crucial member of the Kerala women’s squad. Minnu, a left-handed batter and right-arm off-spinner, scored the most runs (246 from eight games) and took the most wickets (12) in the recently concluded Women’s All-India One-day tournament.

At the Delhi Capitals, Minnu will be lining up alongside the likes of Jemimah Rodrigues, Meg Lanning and Shafali Verma. And by playing for Capitals, Minnu hopes that her daily troubles will abate and she can realise her dream of playing for the country. “WPL is going to be huge. Good performances in WPL will be noted and it can open the doors to the Indian team,” she said.

While most of India’s male cricketers, including the domestic ones, buy swanky cars as soon as they fetch an IPL contract, Minnu’s ambitions are modest “I will buy a scooter first. It will help me overcome the trouble of taking four buses for practice and save a lot of time which i can devote to practice” said Minnu.