After injury setbacks, Shreyanka Patil seeks revival, confidence and India recall
Bengaluru
Once regarded as one of India’s brightest young prospects, off-spinner Shreyanka Patil is ready to relaunch her career through the Women’s Premier League after enduring a long and mentally taxing battle with injuries.
The Bengaluru cricketer was the toast of Indian women’s cricket in March 2024, when she claimed the Purple Cap and Emerging Player of the Tournament awards during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s maiden WPL title triumph. Since then, however, progress has been repeatedly stalled by back-to-back injuries that forced her into extended rehabilitation programmes at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, leaving her on the outside of the national setup.
Recalling the difficult phase, Shreyanka admitted the journey tested her resilience. “It was hard mentally, to be honest. I was really down,” she said during a media interaction ahead of RCB’s WPL opener against Mumbai Indians on January 9. She credited conversations with fellow players at the CoE and senior India stars for helping her regain perspective. “People like Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Riyan Parag really helped. Hearing about their struggles made me figure out my own way out.”
India’s historic maiden ODI World Cup triumph in November brought mixed emotions for the 22-year-old. “I was very proud and happy, but also disappointed because I couldn’t be there. The World Cup was a big miss for me,” she said.
Shreyanka has taken cautious steps on her comeback trail, returning to competitive cricket with the Barbados Royals in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League in September, her first outing since October 2024. Though wickets were hard to come by, a retention call from RCB ahead of the mega auction proved a major emotional boost.
“For someone who hadn’t played for 13 months, that trust meant everything,” she said. Now fully fit, Shreyanka is clear about her immediate goal — to repay that faith by contributing to another WPL title — while quietly nurturing hopes of forcing her way back into India contention.
