Reddy was surprisingly dropped by India despite consistent performances
Arundhati Reddy made her international debut in 2018 against Sri Lanka and played T20Is regularly for India until 2021. However, lower returns meant the pace-bowling allrounder was sidelined for over three years.
Her comeback in 2024 was a tale of redemption after toiling away for years in the domestic circuit and then impressing in the Women’s IPL for Delhi Capitals for whom she claimed 10 wickets and scored 50 runs in 16 matches.
She also made her ODI debut in the home series against South Africa and then finished with seven wickets in the 2024 T20 World Cup, the joint-highest for India in the tournament. She also claimed her career best figures of 4-26 in Perth against Australia. Despite the consistent performers, she was shockingly dropped for the ODI series against West Indies last month and recent ODIs against Ireland.
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The unexplained reasons for her snub brought in scrutiny for the selectors and captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who refused to talk about Reddy’s exclusion.
However, Reddy is not the one to complain. She featured in the Senior Women’s One-Day Challenger Trophy for India A and picked up seven wickets from five matches.
“For me, all that matters is which team I am playing for and if I am doing well for them. And every time I take the field I want to win games for whichever team I play. And that has always been the way I play my cricket,” the 28-year-old said in an interview with ESPNcricinfo.
After being dropped from the national side, Reddy looked up to her coach Arjun Dev at the NICE Academy in Bengaluru for advice.
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“The only thing that he told me was that whether the [India] tag comes or not, or whichever team that you play for, all we wanted to focus on was being the best allrounder in the world, wherever you play,” she said.
Reddy said she now knows how to deal with the uncertainty of playing for India after years of being in and out of the side.
“But I think now I’ve become responsible enough to understand. And whichever team I play for, I’m also one of the senior players. Again, it helps me a lot. Seeing things that way. Helping the other girls. I think that also gets the best out of me. That’s what I just focus on,” the allrounder said.
She is still hopeful to play for India in the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup at home and is working to polish her skills.
“One thing I really worked on last season was attacking the stumps all the time. Because, obviously, only if you attack the stumps, you’re going to get wickets. So, that was the main plan. The length differs depending on the batter. But be it death [overs], initial stages or the middle overs, stumps is the way to go for me,” Reddy said.
Indian women’s team will next play five T20Is and three ODIs against England in the lead up to the ODI World Cup.
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