Mumbai: She made a stellar debut in the Perth pink-ball Women’s Test against Australia, but Mumbai fast bowler Sayali Satghare is now eyeing a place in the India women’s T20 team, which is ready for some challenging roles over the next four months. India is set to tour South Africa to play a five-match T20I series against the hosts, starting on April 17. The series will be preparation for the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup in England, which begins on June 12. Swinging the ball beautifully, the 25-year-old fast bowler took four wickets for 50 runs, providing a ray of hope in India’s crushing 10-wicket defeat to Australia at the WACA. Asked if she was hoping to be selected for the South Africa T20 series next month, Satghare told TOI in an interview, “Yes, I would love to be there, but I have done everything I can in the last few months, so it is up to the selectors.”
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At the launch of the new season of the T20 Mumbai League and the announcement of the three-team T20 Mumbai Women’s League on Saturday, the Borivali girl got a rare opportunity to share the stage with former India captain Rohit Sharma. “This is the first time I’ve met him. He’s been an inspiration for a long time. He’s a legend of the game, the greatest opening batsman the game has ever seen. I mean he’s really good about things, so he doesn’t make you feel like, ‘Oh he’s Rohit Sharma’ and all that. He’s very humble, and it made me feel comfortable on stage,” Satghare said.Although she was happy with her performance on Test debut, Satghare admitted that she would; If it had come with a winning objective I would have cherished it more. “It was a great experience. I would have been happier if we had won the match. But playing in Australia at the WACA ground in Perth is a dream for any former bowler. So yes, I am really grateful that I got that opportunity,” he said. the captain was so helpful Harmanpreet KaurGiven that this was his first match against Australia, a challenging team to make his Test debut against? Satghare praised, “She was very supportive and made all four of us debutants feel comfortable and whatever our plans were, she was discussing with us what we could do, what needed to be done in certain situations and whenever I had any doubts I could go to her and she would suggest what could be done.” Describing the big in-swinger that swung from outside the off-stump to hit the top of Australian opener Georgia Woll’s leg stump, Satghare said, “Yes in-swing is my strength and we have to bowl under lights, so the ball was doing a lot and I think the pink ball usually swings more under lights. On that WACA wicket, there was both pace and bounce. So, with that swing I got… It was a dream ball.”Satghare also liked taking the wicket of former Australian women’s team captain Alyssa Healy, who was playing her farewell Test. The fast bowler gave a brilliant catch to Healy at backward point by Jemimah Rodrigues. “Alyssa is obviously a legend of the game, so to get her wicket in her final innings was special and memorable,” he said with a smile.It is no surprise that Satghare’s role models in the game are modern fast bowling greats Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc. “They are really good in all three formats. They adapt to conditions well. They understand the conditions well in any format and their execution is on point. If I can do half of that, it would be great for me,” he said.While he is keen to play for India in all three formats, Satghare knows the value of a Test cap. She said, “I would love to play in all three formats (for India). As I said, not a lot of players have played for India in Test cricket, so getting that opportunity is a big thing for me and I have always loved Test cricket. I have always enjoyed playing multi-day matches in domestic cricket, so it was great to make my Test debut.”Recalling how she started playing cricket as a child in Borivali, Satghare said, “I used to play street cricket with my brothers in Borivali. Then, one of my cousins joined an academy. So, during summer camps, I would stay at home, and he would go in the mornings and evenings. Then, one day, I went and saw what happened at the academy. I used to play street cricket, so I thought what would be different there. They were playing some under-10 matches there with tennis balls. So, I just picked up a ball and threw it like this (he gestured with his hand). So the coach there, Prafulla Naik sir, saw, I think I was only seven or eight years old then… and he was surprised how a girl could throw so powerfully. Then he asked me if I wanted to play cricket. Since I played with my brothers, I said ‘Yes, I want to play.’ Then at home I talked to my parents and my father loves cricket, so he never stopped me. That’s how it started.”There is stiff competition for a spot as a seam bowler in the India women’s team. Perhaps, if Renuka Singh Thakur had not been rested from the Perth Test due to workload, Satghare would not have even played in the match. Satghare said that the players supported each other to perform well. “We are all trying to perform well for the team, so obviously there is competition, but whenever someone plays, we always hope that he performs well and at the end of the day India wins the match.”
