Titas Sadhu: India's new pace sensation and heir apparent to Jhulan Goswami

The Indian women’s cricket team bounced back in style after suffering a 0-3 sweep at the hands of Australia in the ODI series, collecting a dominant nine-wicket victory in the first T20I in Navi Mumbai on Friday. At the heart of their victory over the Aussies, who happen to be world champions in both white-ball formats, were a pair of half-centuries from openers Shafali Verma (64 not out) and Smriti Mandhana (54) as well as a brilliant haul of 4/17 from rising pace star Titas Sadhu. Sadhu’s international career is still at its infancy. However, the kind of performances that she is putting in at the moment certainly will have experts and fans describing her as the next big thing in Indian cricket. After her match-winning performance against the Southern Stars, we delve deeper into her cricketing career so far: Who is Titas Sadhu? Right-arm seamer Sadhu has been dubbed by many as the next Jhulan Goswami given she hails from the same state as the pace legend — her hometown of Chinsurah isn’t very far from the bustling metropolis of Kolkata as well as Chakdaha, Goswami’s hometown which falls in the neighbouring Nadia district. As a kid, Sadhu used to be a scorer at the Chinsurah Rajendra Smriti Sangha, a club where her father served as the secretary and where she got her first exposure to the sport, according to ESPNCricinfo. She would make her debut for Bengal at the senior level in the 2020-21 season, but it was in the inaugural Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup in early 2023 where she made her first major impression — collecting two wickets for just six runs in four overs as the Indians, led by Shafali, romped to a seven-wicket victory. Her performance would later land her a deal with the Meg Lanning-led Delhi Capitals in the inaugural Women’s Premier League, though she would end up warming the bench throughout the tournament as the Capitals finished runners-up with a defeat against Mumbai Indians in the final. Sadhu would make her India debut later that year in the Hangzhou Asian Games, where the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Women in Blue won gold on debut. On her maiden international appearance, in the semi-final against Bangladesh, Sadhu would collect 1/10 in four as India bowled the Tigresses out for a paltry 51 and later won by eight wickets. She would be even more destructive in the final against Sri Lanka, collecting 3/6 from four including a maiden as India restricted Sri Lanka to 97/8 after setting them 117 to win, adding to the nation’s gold haul in the process. “The best part was that we never thought we won’t win it. That was incredible, because we get to play for the Indian cricket team, but rarely do we get a chance to represent the country as a whole. And to add to the tally of the medals is an incredible feat,” Sadhu said in an exclusive chat on an episode of _First Sports_ .

It was her performance against the Aussies on Friday, however, that will have put her on the cricketing map and made her a bowler to watch out in the build-up to this year’s T20 World Cup, which will be taking place in Bangladesh in September and October.