Women's Cricket Exclusive: Age 14, 5 feet 8 inches tall, bowls left-arm wrist spin; Debjani Das is all set to be Bengal's next cricketing superstar

Bengal cricket has always given some great women's international cricketers over the years. From Jhulan Goswami of the past to Richa Ghosh of the present, Bengal has been a breeding ground for some excellent women's cricketers. During the inaugural Women's Bengal Pro T20 League 2024, Sportz Point found another cricketer who can go on and mark her presence in international cricket in future. 

Debjani Das, age 14, comes from Chinsurah, a place famous for having top-class players like Titas Sadhu, Anustup Majumdar and more, is all set to be the future star from Bengal.

Debjani bowls left-arm left-arm wrist spin and can tonk the ball very far too. The young spinner is as tall as 5 feet 8 inches and can be a surprise element for any team. All of this combination along with a calm head over the shoulders makes her a prospect for Indian cricket. 

Debjani's father Partha Das, a carpenter by profession never stopped her from having a dream and her mother Pratima Das always pushes her to chase those dreams without worrying about anything.

"My parents never stopped me from playing cricket. They have always backed me to go for my dreams," Debjani told Sportz Point.

Athletics to cricket: Cricket was always in her fate

The class eight student of Bani Mandir School comes from an athletic background which helps her with that extra speed on the field. Debjani used to run 100m and 200m and wanted to pursue a career in athletics. But, her fate took her to cricket. 

"I used to do athletics, like 100m and 200m events. But, one uncle saw me and said that in athletics to get glory you need to be first, second or third. But, in team sports, you can achieve more things by just being in the eleven. So, I went to see a practice session of our district team and joined a cricket camp after that."

Read Also: From Chakdah to Lords: Adios, Jhulan Goswami 

The accidental spinner

But, just like most of spinners, Debjani too is an accidental spinner. Three years back when she had started her cricket career, Debjani used to be a left-arm pacer. It was her inability to swing the ball back into the right-hander, that brought her to left-arm left-arm wrist spin bowling. 

"As a left-arm pacer, I only had the outswinger. Jana sir told me to try left-arm wrist spin. I did not have any idea about left-arm wrist spin bowling before that," Das shared. 

Debjani in her short career has already played for the Bengal U-15 team and has been selected for the upcoming VISION camp as well. Along with that, she has also been in the National Cricket Academy for a camp and has learnt a lot from there.

"I worked a lot on the run-up and control at the NCA. Earlier I used to bowl around the wicket. Now I am bowling more over the wicket and I think I have better control now as a bowler."

Read Also: Women's Cricket Exclusive: Bowls fast, hits it long, runs 2km under 8 min, Titas Sadhu is ready for bigger stage

Jhulan Goswami's tips on her bowling

But, it was Jhulan Goswami's praise during one of the U-15 practices that made Debjani more confident and till then became more aware of her game. Furthermore, the legendary bowler shared some valuable tips on her bowling which already made her a better player.

"Jhulan madam gave me a few tips during the U-15 days. She advised me to get better with my run-up and have a top arm bowling action, which is helping me a lot," Debjani shared.

Big fan of Kuldeep Yadav

Just like most of the left-arm wrist spin bowlers in the world, Debjani is a fan of Kuldeep Yadav and wants to have control like the Indian men's cricket team superstar. 

"I am a very big fan of Kuldeep Yadav. I like his control. I want to have that in my bowling as well."

Along with her bowling, Debjani is really serious about her batting and even everyone who has seen her play believes she can be an asset with the bat. Though Debjani had to bat in the lower order, she feels she can add more value to batting in the middle order.

"I think I can contribute with batting as well. I generally love to bat in the middle order. With time, I want to get better as a batter as well and contribute to the team's success," Debjani stated.