Follow UsThe city is Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Now imagine any generic middle-income mohalla (colony). In that colony, imagine a young girl playing cricket with older boys. The thought in itself is surreal because you don't associate a girl playing cricket with older boys in that part of the country.
That's how Mumbai Indians' latest Women's Premier League (WPL) recruit, Akshita Maheshwari, spent most of her childhood.
"I was active in sports even as a child. Housework never interested me, but since there weren't many girls to play with, so I used to play the older guys in the colony," Maheshwari told Cricket.com in an exclusive conversation just a couple of weeks after she got picked in the WPL mini-auction.
"My brother also used to play with me. Many people in the neighbourhood used to ask my parents why they were allowing this lone girl to play with the boys. But my parents were always supportive."
You see, that's where stories begin—support from parents. Not many girls in this country (or the world at large) are lucky enough to have parents who won't even move an eyelid when they put their preteen daughters in outdoor sports.
Fortunately for us cricket fans, the state of Rajasthan (which she proudly represents) and Indian cricket, Maheshwari's parents kick-started her journey and, from thereon, supported her to the fullest.
"I used to do both batting and bowling in gully cricket. Both were a priority for me," Maheshwari adds with a laugh.
"I wanted to do well and had that hunger to win and impact the game."
This exact hunger pushed a zealous Maheswari towards formal training in the game in her adolescence.
First steps in cricket
"One day, my brother and I went to a nearby KL Saini stadium for a run and saw a girl practising cricket," the pace bowling allrounder recounted.
"That's when I called my father and told him there's an academy here for girls. I joined it soon, and Vishal Tiwari sir was my first coach. Even the first ball I bowled there fell exactly on the good length as it's supposed to. Then he taught me the basics and polished my game further."
However, Maheshwari's story wasn't smooth at all. The ever-present dilemma between studies and sports surfaced, and drama insinuated in her young life. As it turned out, that incident was also an inflexion point in her life that affirmed her commitment towards cricket.
"So the state U19 team trials and my 10th-grade board exam fell on the same time," the Jaipur-born said.
"I had their permission to reach the ground by 11 AM and take my trial then. He said okay. I told my father to come by 10:30, but the teacher didn't allow me to leave until 11. I was late and reached by noon. Until then, the trials were over, and I wasn't given a chance."
The story seems similar to the one in MS Dhoni's biopic, where Dhoni finished the exam early, just like Maheshwari, so that he could go and play a match. However, she and her parents didn't desire the ending, and things had to change.
"That's why from 11th I joined a dummy school (only exams, no regular classes) and used to train in the academy both times," the 24-year-old added.
"I had to work on both my batting and bowling. A ma'am in the academy told my parents she was quite good, and that's when my family also started prioritising my game. My father is a huge cricket nut, so it was all cricket for me after that."
The doldrums of Covid, a setback, and the rise
The COVID-19 pandemic wasn't a good time for Indian women's cricket. While the men resumed playing international cricket in bubbles, the women stayed at home. All age groups and domestic cricket were stopped (for both men and women), and budding cricketers like Maheshwari really bore the brunt of it.
"I was dropped after Covid from the Rajasthan team despite performing well due to some politics within the selection committee," Maheswari said with a straight face.
"That was also the time (2020-2023) when I felt that 'Akshita Maheshwari was over'. I didn't play at all. People used to come and ask, 'What happened? Your name used to be there everywhere."
Maheswari and her family had to take a drastic step to pull her cricket career out of hibernation, and that step was an academy change.
"That's when I changed the academy and joined GR Cricket Academy," Maheshwari said.
"Ashwini Kherwa and Jagsimran Singh sir observed me for the first four days after I told them I was not getting wickets. They discovered that my actions had changed, and I was asked to bowl six deliveries with my eyes closed. On the seventh delivery, I got my old action and delivered the ball exactly how I wanted."
The work that began then continued into the Women's U23 Trophy, where she was the star with the ball and picked two hat tricks! When asked what had changed in such a short period, she credited her coach at the academy.
"My sir had told me one thing - 'For someone who bowls inswingers, I can never be just a run saver. Even if you give runs, it doesn't matter as long as you are picking wickets. These figures with multiple maidens and one or two wickets won't take you anywhere. But 4/20 will. It's important to get breakthroughs." Maheswari remarked.
"That's when I got to play the U23 competition and got two hat tricks. Then I went to NCA as well for further practice."
In this period, Maheshwari also upped her pace, something that was lacking previously.
"I had also worked to increase my pace by gymming and strength training. I also bowled with heavier balls, did parachute training, etc, to increase my pace," she said.
Maheshwari's career drastically changed when scout Nisarg Naik met her in a domestic game and helped her reach the Mumbai Indians trial. In the meantime, she also played the Senior Women's ODI for the first time and picked five wickets at an economy of just three.
"Nisarg and I talked on social media first and he really supported me," the Rajasthan cricketer said.
"I had asked him about being a net bowler, but then he said that I should actually aim to be a bowler on the main team. He had also seen my performances, and had sent my video to MI."
Maheshwari, a new ball bowler, impressed the MI coaches during the trial in late December despite not being given the new ball.
"There were open nets in the trial and I got to bowl in the 8th over. Despite being a new ball swing bowler, I managed to get some good movement even with a slightly old ball," Maheswari remembered.
“That's when Devika Palsikhar, ma'am, and Kiran More, sir, called me back and gave me a new ball. Thankfully, that went well, and I also took wickets."
However, the real surprise came for the Maheswari family when their talented daughter was finally selected for the WPL auction, and her life changed forever.
"I wasn't even watching the WPL auction," said Maheshwari, who was playing in Haryana then.
"Then a friend told me that Reema Malhotra is taking your name, and my name being taken by such big people was already a big deal for me. Back home, my family video-called me. We all were just crying on the call. I have no words to describe how I was feeling in that moment."
The right-arm pacer looked especially excited to talk to Shabnim Ismail in the MI camp, who seriously impressed the youngster by bowling the fastest ball in women's cricket last WPL.
"Really excited to be in that camp. Have to learn a lot, especially from Shabnim Ismail," Maheshwari added with a big smile.
"She bowled the fastest ball, and I would love to know the story behind that. Even Harman di, we have been watching her since childhood, so bowling to her would be really special."
The next step
While the WPL promises to be life-changing for the young allrounder, what's really interesting about Maheswari is that she has done what she felt was right so far in her life. "I am whatever I am, I can't lie," she says.
That's why she doesn't hesitate to teach herself new skills like bike riding.
"I love riding bikes a lot. In fact, right from the start, I've always loved driving, whether it be a car or a bike. It's something I've taught myself. So whenever I'm in the mood, I take my bike out," she said with a big smile.
This zeal has ensured that despite fitness standards being down the drain in most domestic cricket, she maintains a high level of personal fitness. One has to just look at the number of gym videos on her social media to understand how seriously she takes this part of her life.
"Now, even in women's cricket, things are such that you have to be extremely and extraordinarily fit," Maheshwari said.
"So you have to stay disciplined. Just like I enjoy riding the bike or playing cricket, I also enjoy maintaining this discipline. It's no different for me. And it's even more crucial for me since I'm an allrounder."
With a career at the top level beckoning in the future if things go her way, Maheshwari just wants to surround herself with the kind of energy that inspires her as she plays with the best in the world's biggest women's T20 league.
"When I went to NCA, there was Jemi [Jemimah Rodrigues] as well, and we (along with my friends) went to a chai place nearby," she said. She has such an aura, like her eyes light up always. I want to be surrounded by that aura and energy. I want to play along with these people. And, of course, Jemi's intent, hunger for win and attitude is really special."
The WPL will start a few days from now. In terms of a platform, nothing can get bigger and better than this for both Akshita Maheshwari, and the dreams of next-gen Rajasthani women cricketers.