Minnu Mani Becomes the First Kerala Woman to Play for India

Minnu Mani became the first Kerala woman to play for the Indian team in an international match. She is the daughter of a daily wage labourer and hails from the Wayanad district of Kerala. She made her hometown proud when she played her first international cricket match against Bangladesh at Mirpur on July 9th 2023. 

This was Minnu Mani’s first time playing for the Indian team. She was capped by Smriti Mandhana, who is Minu’s favourite player. During this international T20I match, she took a wicket in the first over, making all Indian viewers proud. She took down the Bangladesh opener Shamima Sultana with the wicket. Other players in the Indian team spoke highly of Minu when asked about the match. Minu did not leave any stone unturned to make the first match of her career a successful one. 

Following the news of her selection, her parents were overwhelmed with joy and distributed sweets to the locals. The local news channels broadcasted the news. Everyone turned to their phones to watch the Bangladesh and India match on the Youtube channel of the Bangladesh Cricket Board. In the match, Bangladesh made 114 runs in 20 overs. The match ended with Inda’s win when they chased down the target in 16.2 overs.