On this day in 1997, Deepti Sharma was born in Uttar Pradesh. Twenty-nine years later, she stands as one of the best and reliable all-rounders Indian women’s cricket has produced. A left-handed batter and right-arm off-spinner who has steadily turned quiet consistency into match-winning moments on the biggest stages. She made her ODI debut for India against South Africa in November 2014 when she was only 17. For years she was the kind of player teams leaned on without always making headlines. Accurate with the ball, calm in the middle order, and rarely flustered under pressure. That reliability eventually found its grandest stage in 2025.
In the 2025 World Cup in India, Deepti produced one of the finest all-round campaigns the tournament has seen. She scored 215 runs, including three half-centuries, and took 22 wickets, becoming the first player, male or female, to register the double of 200-plus runs and 20-plus wickets in a single World Cup edition. In the final against South Africa in Navi Mumbai she delivered the perfect encapsulation of her game: a composed 58 followed by a match-winning 5 for 39. India lifted their first Women’s ODI World Cup title, and Deepti was named Player of the Tournament.
There have been other milestones along the way. She was the Most Valuable Player of the 2024 Women’s Premier League with UP Warriorz, and became the first Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in the competition. In international cricket she has climbed the all-time wicket charts, at times standing level with or ahead of the great Jhulan Goswami. She remains one of the few bowlers to have taken 150-plus wickets in both ODIs and T20Is. Deepti Sharma is one of the best all-rounders going around and this will be a memorable day for her.
