Harmanpreet Kaur - Making Waves And Breaking Stereotypes, One Game At A Time

Deep in the heart of Punjab lies its infamous drug capital Moga, with its endless array of police cases. Here, very few families are exempt from the curse of peddling or addiction. It's not a place for the faint of heart, and definitely not the kind of place from which you would expect Indian women's cricket sensation to emerge. But then, Harmanpreet Kaur's story is anything but ordinary.

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One has to go even deeper from Moga city, in fact 15 kilometres off to Tarapur village, to understand the place where Harmanpreet Kaur honed her cricketing skills. Interestingly, 17 kilometres from Moga city lies Daulewala village, where 390 households were booked for drug peddling under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in 2013. The village has only 400 households, showcasing the extent of the drug malaise in Punjab.

Fighting Patriarchy

Harmanpreet, though, had nothing but cricket on her mind. With the endless encouragement of her parents and sister, 'Harry' - as she is fondly called by teammates - conquered incredible odds on her way to the top of women's cricket. The 34-year-old fought patriarchy, rose above the debilitating drug problems in the area and conquered financial hardships before she could set an example for young girls in Punjab to follow.

AP

A lot of credit goes to Harmanpreet's parents. Her father was a former volleyball and basketball player and always wanted his children to take up sports. As a kid, Harmanpreet played cricket with the boys of her neighbourhood.

"She often used to break the windows of neighbouring houses," brother Gurjinder reminisces with a smile. Harmanpreet also had interest in hockey and athletics during her school days.

Harmanpreet's life changed when her father met cricket coach Kamaldeesh Singh Sodhi, who was running an academy, Gian Jyoti School Academy, in Tarapur. She joined the academy and trained with the boys. One of her main coaches was Kamaldeesh's son Yadwinder Singh Sodhi.

"Harman would often dominate the boys. She used to hit the ball so hard that the boys seldom tried to get in the way of her shots," says Yadwinder. "Her six-hitting prowess was developed in local club tournaments. In such tourneys, whichever club she represented won easily. Once in a six-over match, she smashed a hundred."

India debut

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In 2009, Harmanpreet made an impression on the national selectors after scoring heavily in the Challenger Trophy. Based on those performances, she was selected in the Indian ODI team. She made her 50-over debut against Pakistan. Harmanpreet thrived on the Aussie attack right from her first series against the women from Down Under in 2009. It was the last over of the final one-day international between India and Australia and Harmanpreet sent the ball screaming into the stands for a 91-metre six at the Sydney Cricket Ground. With her brilliance, Harmanpreet had helped India win the match.

She was just 19 at that time, and the Aussie officials were in total disbelief. They asked Harmanpreet to undergo a dope test. The question was, 'How can a girl hit such a long six, with so much power?' She came out clean.

Her first ODI century, against England in 2013, cemented her place in the Indian team.

Now Harmanpreet is captain of Team India. She is making waves on the international circuit and breaking stereotypes one game at a time.