Within the small rural city of Ghuwara in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district, a 12-year-old would sit close to a floor in entrance of her home and watch boys play cricket for hours. Now a decade later, the 22-year-old right-arm medium pacer lifted the ICC Girls’s ODI World Cup trophy in Navi Mumbai as India beat South Africa to win the title for the primary time.
Like a lot of her friends in India’s World Cup-winning workforce, Kranti’s story too started in a small city as she navigated via resistance, challenges, lack of assets and monetary hardships to the historic second on the DY Patil Stadium on the evening of November 2. In India’s second match within the World Cup in opposition to Pakistan, Kranti received three essential wickets, conceding simply 20 runs in 10 overs, to assist opposition bundle out for 159 and gained Participant of the Match award.
Her elder sister Roshni Goud recollects that Kranti, who give up her research after class 8, barely performed with the ladies within the neighbourhood and was fascinated by cricket since childhood.
Kranti ended her maiden ODI World Cup marketing campaign with 9 wickets, three of which have been in opposition to Pakistan.
| Photograph Credit score:
Getty Photos
Kranti ended her maiden ODI World Cup marketing campaign with 9 wickets, three of which have been in opposition to Pakistan.
| Photograph Credit score:
Getty Photos
“When us ladies would play exterior, she would simply sit and watch the boys play cricket within the floor. Since our brothers additionally performed, she used to play with them typically,” says Roshni, as she recollects Kranti’s “first break” when an area boys workforce was a participant quick.
“When she received an opportunity to play, she scored 25 runs and took two wickets and have become Participant of the Match in her very first recreation,” Roshni provides. Till 2017, Kranti performed native tournaments in boys’ groups with rubber or tennis balls.
‘Sacrifices have paid off’
Youngest amongst Munna Singh Goud and Neelam Goud’s six youngsters, Kranti, fondly known as Rohini at house, hails from a tribal household in Madhya Pradesh’s poverty-ridden Bundelkhand area. In 2012, Munna Singh who labored as a police constable was dismissed from service, forcing Kranti’s eldest brother to surrender research and take up a job to assist the household.
However regardless of the setback, the household didn’t let her curiosity within the sport to discourage. And as her expertise continued to blossom, Munna took her to neighbouring district Tikamgarh in 2017 to fulfill Rajeev Bilthare, who had introduced a ladies’ workforce from his sports activities academy in Chhatarpur metropolis.
“Since a match was happening on the time, I couldn’t discuss to them correctly and had requested them to return to Chhatarpur the subsequent day,” Bilthare recollects. The following day, the father-daughter duo arrived at his Sai Sports activities Academy.
“Her father advised me about having misplaced his job and about their monetary restraints. However for the reason that woman confirmed promise, I enrolled her on the academy with none charges. She additionally stayed at my home for per week at first,” he says, including that town is 85 kilometres from her hometown making commute an issue.
“She didn’t have cricketing footwear or different gear so I received her a pair of footwear. Even now, I hold gifting her equipment tools at her achievements,” he says.
As her curiosity and expertise grew alike, Kranti’s father took her to neighbouring district Tikamgarh in 2017 to fulfill Rajeev Bilthare (in crimson), who had introduced a ladies’ workforce from his sports activities academy in Chhatarpur metropolis.
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association
As her curiosity and expertise grew alike, Kranti’s father took her to neighbouring district Tikamgarh in 2017 to fulfill Rajeev Bilthare (in crimson), who had introduced a ladies’ workforce from his sports activities academy in Chhatarpur metropolis.
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association
For the subsequent three years, Bilthare recollects, Kranti juggled between Ghuwara, Chhatarpur and a close-by village the place she stayed on the home of one other woman on the academy, as she went on to play Below-15 and U-19 ranges for Madhya Pradesh.
Kranti’s father says, “Since I couldn’t discover one other job and my sons had began working, I used to journey along with her to Chhatarpur. Her coach would take all the ladies collectively for any tournaments however nonetheless we was nervous and scared every time she travelled far.”
“Roshni and I used to journey individually to observe her play. It’s solely the beginning of her profession however we really feel all our sacrifices have paid off,” Munna says, including that the identical individuals who earlier used to taunt him and his household at the moment are coming with sweets and congratulations.
Breaking into the Indian set-up
Till 2020, Bilthare recollects, Kranti was extra inclined in direction of batting and had even scored huge at divisional degree.
“However seeing her health and tempo, we began focusing her on her bowling and swing. The following two-three years have been stuffed with battle for her however she remained constant. I additionally began telling her that she is going to play for India in the future and that ought to be her purpose,” he says.
Kranti first caught the selector’s eye when she bagged 4 wickets at an financial system of two.77 and gained Participant of the Match within the remaining of Girls’s Senior One Day Trophy 2024 in opposition to Bengal. Quickly after, she was picked by UP Warriorz for the Girls’s Premier League (WPL). Within the 2025 version of the franchise-based match, the pacer took six wickets in eight matches.
Kranti’s India debut quickly adopted. It got here on Might 11 within the remaining of a Tri-Collection in opposition to Sri Lanka in Colombo. Two months in a while her first England tour, the pacer grabbed headlines after rattling the English workforce along with her figures of 6/52 — making her the youngest to assert a six-wicket haul in WODIs. With the efficiency, she sealed her berth for the World Cup, the place she went on to bag 9 wickets in eight outings and exhibiting promise for future.
FILE PHOTO: Kranti bowling in the course of the third ODI match in opposition to England earlier this 12 months, by which she turned the fifth Indian pacer — and the youngest — to select up a six-wicket haul in WODIs.
| Photograph Credit score:
Getty Photos
FILE PHOTO: Kranti bowling in the course of the third ODI match in opposition to England earlier this 12 months, by which she turned the fifth Indian pacer — and the youngest — to select up a six-wicket haul in WODIs.
| Photograph Credit score:
Getty Photos
Again at house, her household and the city is busy celebrating her triumph with dhols and firecrackers. Relations and neighbours are coming to congratulate whereas Chief Minister Mohan Yadav introduced a reward of Rs. 1 crore for her.
On the academy, Bilthare hopes that Kranti’s achievement will encourage extra younger ladies from the area to take up sports activities. He at present has about 40 ladies coaching at his academy that he began in 2013.
“I began a ladies’ workforce in 2016 with 5 gamers from a authorities faculty. Within the subsequent one 12 months, I visited many faculties and schools to seek for proficient ladies. I spoke to their households too to permit them to take cricket as a profession. I’ve been coaching ladies and boys at a rented floor,” says Bilthare, who can also be a authorities sports activities officer in Chhatarpur, as he hopes for higher services and assets from the authorities.
Kranti’s father says, “Step one must be from the households who must encourage ladies and boys alike, particularly at small locations like ours. If the household stands by them, the younger gamers can handle another obstacles.”
Printed on Nov 03, 2025