Small height, big fight — Tanuja Kan(wer) and she did
Over the past two seasons, the Shimla-born cricketer has been skipper Beth Mooney’s go-to resource in strife, something Giants have found themselves in far too often. These situations have allowed her to come into her own as a thinking cricketer
value in investing in a player of such calibre and roped her in during the auction for Rs. 50 Lakh, an improvement on her RS.10 Lakh base price. Tanuja proved to be good value for money in an otherwise bleak season for the Giants. The franchise finished at the bottom but Tanuja, who took the firstever wicket in the WPL when she dismissed Yastika Bhatia, was just getting started. She ended the season with five wickets to her name but was quickly identified by the think tank as a talent to build foundations with. She was retained ahead of the auction for the 2024 season.
In the run up to WPL 2024, Tanuja took nine wickets in six outings in the Senior Women’s OneDay trophy, part of a titlewinning Railways outfit. This campaign also saw her score a nifty 57ball 44 in a twowicket win against Madhya Pradesh.
“We had weeklong camps here and there. When Railways duty ended, we had small GG camps for the domestic players. There was a mix of fitness and skill work in these sessions,” she explained.
“After last year’s stint in the WPL, I realised that it’s important to round myself out in bowling as well as batting and I worked on that. I worked on the power hitting aspect which was essential. This was alongside the variations I worked on with the ball,” she added.
While the franchise itself encountered the same fate this time around too, finishing dead last, Tanuja bettered her showing with the ball, finishing with ten wickets.
She was a firebrand on the field and was heavily appreciated for her aggression and quick thinking. Her wicket haul was also the second best by an Indian uncapped player (after Asha Sobhana who claimed 12).
Checklist for the season
Tanuja came into the season with a lot of unfinished business. Last year, during a game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (which RCB won by eight wickets), she was taken to the cleaners by a certain Sophie Devine.
She finished that game having conceded 50 runs in just three overs with no wickets to show for consolation.
So when Tanuja dismissed Devine with a stunning turner, knocking off the off stump’s bail after Devine came down the track to get bat on it, she was over the moon.
“I took a lot of beating from her last season and that stayed in my mind. Dismissing her was very satisfying,” she admitted.
“Last year when I went back home from the WPL, folks around my house, neighbours and friends would tell me that they felt really bad when I was hit for a four or six. I loved that, when they said they want only wickets when I bowl.”
She licked her wounds in training, finetuning what she’s good at and adding a few new tricks to her repertoire.
“There weren't too many technical changes. I added a slower one and a yorker to my arsenal. First, I would rely solely on my stock ball. But adding these variations helped me a lot this season,” Tanuja explained.
Over the past two seasons, the Shimlaborn cricketer has been skipper Beth Mooney’s goto resource in strife, a mood the Giants have found themselves in