WPL Auction LIVE: Indian pacer Renuka Thakur got a successful bid of Rs 1.5 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Women’s Premier League auction on Monday. Since her debut, Renuka has been a standout performer in the Indian team. She will now be one of the leaders in RCB’s bowling department. After Renuka’s selection in RCB her mother Sunita Thakur and brother Vinod Thakur at their village Parsa in Rohru district in Himachal Pradesh, distributed sweets to relatives and neighbours. Follow WPL 2023 Auction LIVE Updates with InsideSport.IN
WPL Auction LIVE: From rags to riches, Renuka Thakur continues meteoric rise in Women’s cricket, Shimla born star joins RCB for Rs 1.9 Crore, Emotional family distribute sweets back home – Watch video
With Renuka losing her father Kehar Singh at a young age, Sunita worked in the Himachal Irrigation department and public health department as a fourth-class employee and as the 27-year-old pacer got a successful bid in the first ever WPL auction, Sunita remembered the hard days faced by the family.
Renuka Singh 🤝 @RCBTweets
Talk about adding some pace to the bowling attack 👌 👌#WPLAuction pic.twitter.com/GX5G7zZqHq
— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) February 13, 2023
“Whatever Renuka has achieved is due to her hard work and passion for the sport. As a youngster, she would always accompany her brother to the village ground near the nullah and would play in the boys’ teams. After the death of my husband, we struggled financially but I never let that come in between my daughter’s cricketing dreams. She always watched IPL matches with interest and to see her play in the WPL for a team will be a dream come true for all of us,” said Sunita.
▶️ Not just from South Africa, we have s̐̈w̐̈e̐̈e̐̈t̐̈ reactions from Himachal too! Here’s Renuka Singh’s family she was picked by RCB at INR 1.5CR. #WPLAuction pic.twitter.com/BbV40stApL
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) February 13, 2023
“When she started playing cricket, she would always pick up whatever was available like wooden sticks or plastic bats from home or neighbourhood to play with the boys. Sometimes, she would return home crying that she did not get her turn to bat or bowl. But as she performed well in the village tournaments, teams came to pick her up along with a new bat or ball and she would always return with a trophy. She still keeps her trophies in a small almirah at our home,” said Thakur.
WPL Auction LIVE: From rags to riches, Renuka Thakur continues meteoric rise in Women’s cricket, Shimla born star joins RCB for Rs 1.9 Crore, Emotional family distribute sweets back home – Watch video
Renuka used to practice with the village boys in the morning as well evenings between her school time. Her village has a small cricket ground near Kundi Nullah. With the boys including her brother Vinod playing matches in nearby villages, a young Renuka would also travel with them to play.
Renuka’s uncle Bhupinder Singh Thakur advised her to give trials for the HPCA Academy at Dharamshala. The subsequent years saw her train at the academy and she emerged as the leading wicket-taker in the BCCI Women’s One Day League in 2019 with 23 wickets.
The last three years have seen Renuka playing in seven women’s ODIs and 28 women’s T20Is including the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where she picked up a total of 11 wickets including two four-wicket hauls.
WPL Auction LIVE: From rags to riches, Renuka Thakur continues meteoric rise in Women’s cricket, Shimla born star joins RCB for Rs 1.9 Crore, Emotional family distribute sweets back home – Watch video
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