A girl who didn’t know women’s cricket existed and started playing the sport with a plastic ball and bat has now earned a spot in the Women's Premier League (WPL). Following the footsteps of Minnu Mani, Sajana Sajeevan, the second player from the Kurichiya tribe, a tribal community in Kerala’s Wayanad, is padding up for Mumbai Indians.
“I had hope for last year. But no team selected me. Now I am extremely happy, and I consider the WPL a great opportunity for me to improve and showcase my talent,” Sajana said, sharing her happiness. Sajana hailing from Mananthavady is the eldest daughter of Sajeevan, an auto rickshaw driver, and Sarada Sajeevan, a municipality councillor.
When asked about her first memory of cricket she said, “I really do not know when I started playing cricket. I have loved the game since my childhood and I recall my father gifting me a plastic cricket bat.”
Sajana was the only girl child in the entire neighbourhood. So, from childhood, she began to play with boys who were mostly into cricket. Until age 18 she did not even know that women's cricket existed and thought it was something only the boys played. “I used to watch cricket from childhood, but it was only men’s cricket. I grew up watching Sachin and Ganguly, so I thought cricket was only for men,” said the 28-year-old Sajana who was bought by Mumbai Indians for Rs 15 lakh. She considers this a big step towards reaching her biggest dream – to become an international cricketer.
“Playing for India is my ultimate goal. I think my performance in WPL will help me to reach there. I want to enter any team to get the experience. But the champion team, Mumbai Indians selected me. I am so happy and hope I can perform well.”
Sajana says it is not easy for a girl, especially from a village, to work on her dreams. “I got beaten up for playing cricket with boys. Even though my parents did not have any problems, some of my relatives did. We cannot complain because those people are old and don’t know much about the world,” she said.
Her cricket journey
She upgraded from a plastic bat to a coconut petiole while studying in school. Until Class 10, cricket was just an entertainment game for her. After joining higher secondary school, she performed in athletics. She was good at track and field events in athletics like javelin throw, shot put, and running middle distances. At that time there used to be a sports item called cricket ball throwing. She was also good at that and her physical education teacher noticed it. She suggested Sajana try out cricket and her journey started from there.
“When I was doing my higher secondary education in the Government Vocational Higher Secondary School Mananthavady, there was a sporting event called cricket ball throwing. I was good at that and my physical education teacher, Elsamma, asked me to try cricket. Then only did I become aware there were women cricketers, and we can play it district-wise and state-wise, and we can also play for India,” she said.
Sajana started to play for the district team in 2012. Besides her passion, what kept her committed to this profession in her early days was the lack of any need to spend money. She explained, “When I played, it was not at all a burden to my family. They provided a small allowance when I played for a district match. It was Rs 150 per day. Even though the match would be held in 6 to 7 days, that amount was big for us.”
The same year she went for state selection but could not get through. But she was able to get the first reserved position in T20. “I was not a professional player at the time.” I learned about cricket more, practised more, and the next year I got a selection, and the same year I reserved for a T20 senior,” she added.
Her T20 seniors debut match was against Hyderabad. It ended like a dramatic movie where the protagonist makes the team win in the last ball. Kerala needed four runs in one ball to win and she entered the crease to bat as the eighth woman. “In the last ball, Kerala needed four runs. I got a four. From then I was a permanent player in the Kerala team,” said Sajana, still excited about her first match.
She continued to sharpen her talent and played for Kerala in several matches and became captain. An all-rounder, she is equally adept in batting right-hand and delivering off-spin. Under her captaincy, Kerala won the 2017-18 Under 23 championship. In 2015 and 2017 she won the women cricketer of the year award from KCA.
After Class 12, she completed her graduation in Political Science from Kerala Varma College, Thrissur. Then she completely concentrated on cricket.
Sajana's story has similarity with the Tamil movie Kanaa, featuring Aishwarya Rajesh as a woman cricketer who started to play cricket with boys and dreamt of becoming an international cricketer. Sajana played a cricketer’s role in that movie and agrees that her story is similar. “During the shooting, I used to say ‘this would be my story if I play for India’,” Sajana added.
Currently, Sajana is practising for an upcoming interstate one-day match and eagerly awaiting the opportunity to join the Mumbai Indians camp in February.