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Joshitha VJ - The Kerala teenager who is made for the stars

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Last updated on 17 Jan 2025 | 05:03 PM
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Joshitha VJ - The Kerala teenager who is made for the stars

In an exclusive conversation with Biju George, we go through the story of Joshitha's scouting, the speciality of her talent, WPL, and the Kerala tale of Indian women's cricket

Joshitha VJ. 

Sold to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru for INR 10 lakh. 

When the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 auctioneer announced this, a teenager’s future changed forever. What’s even more special in this case is that it’s a name we won’t forget anytime soon. 

Hailing from Wayanad, Kerala, which is the epicentre of women’s cricket talent in Kerala, Joshitha has emerged in the last few months as one of India’s best rising junior talents and is already in Malaysia, getting ready to play the Women’s U19 World Cup. 

Primarily an outswing bowler whose action at the point of release would remind you of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, she is already an integral part of the Kerala women’s cricket senior setup. 

She is already so good that according to Malolan Rangarajan (a coach and scout for RCB), she was bought to pair up with Renuka Thakur in the powerplay overs. In fact, coach Luke Williams saw her in one of their camps around six months before the auction and got so excited about her peculiar action and talent that she was called to another camp after that. 

However, the 18-year-old from Wayanad had already impressed the best women’s fast bowler India had ever had by then. 

“The first time I ever heard the name Joshitha was from the legend, Jhulan Goswami,” Biju George, a coach with the Delhi Capitals and part of the Kerala cricket setup, told Cricket.com in an exclusive conversation about Joshitha. 

"She rang me once and told me that ‘there is a player called Joshitha in Kerala. She's extremely good. I saw her. So, you have to take care of her.’ So luckily, the Kerala junior team was practising in Trivandrum. I went up to the Mangalapuram ground. 

“As I got on from the bike and I was on the pavilion trying to watch what's happening, I saw a girl batting with a stance very reminiscent of the great Kapil Dev. I said, ‘oh, that old-timer stance!’

"And the first ball, she hit over extra cover for a 70 yard six. It went over the boundary, over the fence. I asked the guys, who is that batting? That is Joshitha, they said.”

It wasn’t just her batting that impressed George at first glance. He was yet to see her primary skill as of now, which has earned her all the laurels so far, including a spot in India’s U19 World Cup squad. It was so good that she was even in a WPL camp for the Delhi Capitals, and Meg Lanning was also quite impressed by her. 

“Afternoon, she came and started bowling,” George continued. 

“Easy, clean run-up. Sharp out-swingers. Then I went and talked to her. And I asked her like, where is she from? She said she's from Wayanad. When I spoke with her, I established a rapport with her. Then when the WPL started, we took her as a net bowler to Delhi. There she surprised no one other than Meg Lanning with her speed and movement.

“Meggie is like, ‘wow, this kid is good. Has she played for India?’ I said, ‘Meggie, you got it right. You called her a kid. She's only 16 and a half at that time.’ Probably, she's 17 and a half now.”

Despite being spotted by both DC and Mumbai Indians, Joshitha went to RCB, which, according to George, is a great team for her since she’s assured of a regular playing spot there, just like Malolan mentioned earlier. 

“She’s also in the right team in the WPL,” George added. 

“Like in Delhi, we are stocked with fast bowlers. From Shikha Pandey, Arundhati, Kappie to Titus and Annabelle. We have fast bowling sessions done. So, we knew that we are never going to get her. But I was hoping and praying she will get into a team. And obviously, she got very happy [when she was picked]."

Indian women's cricket's Kerala tale


Until a few years ago, there was hardly any buzz around Kerala women’s cricket. However, with the rise of players like Minnu Mani, Sajana Sajeevan, Arundhati Reddy, Asha Sobhana and now even Joshitha, Kerala cricket is full of players who either are already in the senior Indian setup or are at its fringes. 

It wasn’t a one day miracle job which led them here. As George told us, the efforts began right from the ground, and Wayanad was at the centre of it all. 

“There was this administrator called T.C. Mathew in Kerala. He was also the board treasurer for a period of time. At that time, he started various academies across the state through the state association,” George recounted. 

“One of these academies, especially for women, was started in Wayanad. The secretary there, Mr. Nazir Machan, is quite crazy for cricket, especially women cricket,. So, all these girls [Minnu, Sajana, and now Joshitha] come from Wayanad.

“And if you have been to Wayanad, you see it's got a beautiful wickets, centre wickets. Beautiful place. The weather is very good. It's like Pune-Bangalore weather at its very best. They also got indoor facilities. They got a good gym. So, what Nazir Machan did was that the ground was made open for the players on 365 days, especially for the women players. And they can practice as much as they want on quality wicket.

"And they got a few good coaches, Justin, Deepthi and all. They put the hard work with these players. And one by one, these players start coming.”

What’s special about these stories is that most of these players come from not so privileged or affluent backgrounds, and hence once they make it big in the game, they uplift their families.

“All these girls, Sajana, Minnu, Joshitha and another girl called Najla [CMC], all these come from extremely, extremely, what do you call it? Wanting family, to say the least,” George remarked. 

“So these girls knew that cricket was one window of opportunity for them. They're trying to grab it with both hands.”

As for Joshitha, George had nothing but praise and extremely high expectations for the future. 

“I hope Joshitha makes it really good. And I know for sure. I am not just hoping. I know for sure. It will be very soon that Joshitha makes her way into the Indian senior women's team,” the Kerala-based coach proclaimed. 

“And she will be the classic fast bowling all-rounder whom we needed. With this girl, she has got range all over. She's an excellent fielder. Sharp, sharp outswing. Very canny. You can use the old ball too. And the age is also there. So I hope she does very well.”

The U19 World Cup is starting very soon for Joshitha and the Indian girls. At this point, it’s quite obvious that people who know Joshitha are expecting a great performance. As far as we have seen from her on the cricket field, all those expectations are justified. 

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