Richa Ghosh’s father once took a loan to a buy a bat for the keeper-batter

Team India’s young and explosive keeper-batter Richa Ghosh was signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for Rs 1.9 crore at the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 auction. However, there was a time when the cricketer’s father had to take a loan to buy a bat for Richa. A former club cricketer, who later became an umpire, Richa’s father had to borrow the money so that her daughter could attend trails for U-19.

Thanks to her father, Richa was introduced to the game at a very young age. He used to take his daughter to cricket grounds from the age of 4 itself. The Siliguri-born cricketer was picked for her state U-19 team when she was just 12 years old.

To attend cricket camps, the keeper-batter had to often cover a distance of 600 kms from Siliguri to Kolkata by train. Richa’s hard work and talent were rewarded in 2018, when she won the Bengal Women’s Cricket of the Year award.

Richa Ghosh: A rising star in international cricket

After making her international debut in the T20I tri-series final in Australia in February 2020, Richa was picked in the Indian squad for the 2020 T20 World Cup as well. Although India Women were hammered in the final, Richa showed some mettle with a run-a-ball 18.

The aggressive right-handed batter has so far featured in 35 T20Is, scoring 563 runs at an average of 26.80 and a strike rate of 133.41. In the second T20I during Australia’s tour of India in 2022, Richa smashed 26* off 13 balls, a blazing cameo which featured three sixes. Thanks to her batting exploits, the game ended in a tie and India went on to win the match in the Super Over.

Looking at her ODI stats, she had featured in 17 matches in which she has scored 311 runs at an average of 22.21, with two half-centuries. Richa already holds the record for the fastest fifty by an India Women’s batter in ODIs - 26 balls.

Known for her hard-hitting ability, Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni are the 19-year-old’s cricketing heroes.