Poonam Yadav is an Indian cricketer who plays as the leg-spin bowler for the Indian women’s national cricket team. She has represented Central Districts, Uttar Pradesh and Railways in domestic cricket. In 2023, she was bought by Women’s Premier League (WPL) franchise Delhi Capitals.
Wiki/Biography
Poonam Yadav was born on Saturday, August 24, 1991, in Agra, Uttar Pradesh (32 years old as of 2023). Her zodiac sign is Virgo.
Childhood photo of Poonam Yadav feeding sweets to his brother during Raksha Bandhan
As a child, she was teased for her short height. Although she was interested in many sports, her short stature did not allow her to succeed in any other sport besides cricket. In cricket, her height was a blessing in disguise, making her a skilled leg-spinner. She grew up playing gully cricket with the neighborhood boys. In 2007, she started training with senior cricketers like Hemalatha Kala at the Eklavya Stadium. At first, her father was severely against her pursuing a career in sports. It was her 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup coach (too late) and teammates Manoj Kushwaha and Hemlata Kala who convinced her father to let Poonam choose a career in cricket. Even though her family was on board, Poonam faced sexism from society. In 2010, Manoj Kushwaha became her coach. In 2011, she joined Indian Railways through sports quota as a junior clerk in the Agra division of North Central Railway. Later, she became chief of staff of the Railway Archives Department.
appearance
Height: 5’1”
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Her family hails from Mawahar village in Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh. In 1990, they settled in Agra and a year later, Poonam was born. Her father Raghuveer Singh Yadav is a retired army officer (Major Subedar). Later, he started working as a lecturer at Arya Kanya Inter College, Sikandrarao, Hathras. Her mother Munna Devi is a housewife. Poonam is the second youngest of four siblings, including two brothers and a sister. The name of one of his brothers is Ashu.
Poonam Yadav and her father
Poonam Yadav and her mother
Poonam Yadav feeds sweets to her brother on Raksha Bandhan
husband
She is unmarried.
Profession
domestic
She has played for domestic/state teams Central Zone, Uttar Pradesh and Railways. She captained the Uttar Pradesh team to win the 2010 Under-19 Championship. She was part of the India A team in the Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy (2022). Other domestic teams she has represented include the Indian Reds.
International
She made her international debut on 5 April 2013 in a Women’s 2020 International (WT20I) match against Bangladesh during the 2012/13 Bangladesh women’s tour of India at the Reliance Stadium in Vadodara, Gujarat. The Indian women’s team won by 10 points. This match is the third of the three-match series, with India leading 2-0. Yadav worked her magic with the ball in her debut match and took 3 important wickets to help India seal the series 3-0. She made her ODI debut on 12 April 2013 against Bangladesh at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, during the 2012/13 Bangladesh women’s tour of India. The Indian women’s team won by 58 points. She made her Test series debut against South Africa on 16 November 2014 during the 2014/15 South Africa Women’s Tour of India at the Gangatri Glades Cricket Ground in Mysore, Karnataka. The Indian women’s team won by 34 points. During the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2017, she took 2 wickets in 10 overs and conceded just 23 runs, saving India from losing to Sri Lanka. She was India’s joint-leading wicket-taker at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2018, with eight dismissals in five games. In September 2018, she became India’s highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 Internationals with 57 wickets in 39 T20Is, surpassing senior teammate Jhulan Goswami. She was named in the Indian squad for the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. In the first match of the tournament, Yadav took 4 wickets and scored 19 runs to put Australia in trouble and was awarded the Man of the Match award.
Poonam Yadav celebrates taking a wicket during the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup opener against Australia
In the next game against Bangladesh, she once again showed her talents and scored 3 wickets in a row, helping the Indian team win its second consecutive World Cup victory. Although India reached the final, they lost to Australia by 85 runs. Her impeccable performance saw her named in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup XI, with teenage starlet Shafali Verma becoming the 12th player. In May 2021, she was named as part of the Indian Test squad for a match against the England women’s cricket team. She was named in the Indian squad for the 2022 Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.
Women’s T20 Challenge
She represented the Supernovas team in the Women’s T20 Challenge in 2019 and 2020. Supernovas won the Women’s T20 Challenge 2019 by defeating Velocity by 4 wickets in the final.
Poonam Yadav as a Supernovas player poses with the trophy after winning the Women’s T20 Challenge 2019
She represented the Trail Blazers in the 2022 Women’s T20 Challenge.
Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL)
In 2021, she signed with franchise team Brisbane Heat to compete in the WBBL.
Poonam Yadav plays for Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) (2021)
Women’s Premier League (WPL)
In 2023, she was bought by franchise team Delhi Capitals for the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) at a base price of Rs 30 lakh.
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- Arjuna Award(2019)
President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Arjuna Award (2019) to the Poonam Yadav Cricket Awards at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi on August 29, 2019
- Indian Cricket Heroes Tournament Female Bowler of the Year Award (2019)
Poonam Yadav was awarded the Female Bowler of the Year award at the inaugural Indian Cricket Heroes event held at Lord’s Cricket Ground in 2019, an initiative by RP Sanjiv Goenka Group, Cornerstone founder Bunty Sajdeh and Star Sports
- BCCI Cricketer of the Year Award (2020)
Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav and Shafali Verma pose with BCCI Awards (2020)
Facts/Trivia
- Her batting style is right-handed batting and her bowling style is Legbreak Googly. Poonam started as a medium pacer but later changed his style and became a leg-spinner.
- Shane Warne is her idol. Apart from this, MS Dhoni and Neetu David are her favorite cricketers.
- Manoj Khushwa is her personal trainer.
Poonam Yadav with coach Manoj Kushwaha
- She plays for the Indian women’s football team and her jersey number is 24.
- She is the first Uttar Pradesh woman cricketer to win the Arjuna Award.
- There was a time when her performances dipped significantly while playing for Uttar Pradesh in 2009-10. She almost considered quitting the sport at the time, but her father helped rebuild her confidence. According to her, joining Railways was a turning point in her life and her game has improved significantly since then.
- Her dream come true moment came during the 2017 Women’s World Cup when she played in the final at Lord’s and met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the match.
Poonam Yadav with Prime Minister Narendra Modi
- She came from humble beginnings and lived in a single room with her siblings. Initially, she practiced twice a day, cycling back and forth with the kit. Soon, she started practicing three times a day, realizing that twice wasn’t enough. First, she warmed herself up before school. Then, after school, she returns to the field at 2 p.m. to train in person for an hour. She then rested on the floor for nearly 90 minutes, surfing the Internet with other children in the evening.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education