VR Vanitha looking to coach and groom youngsters in second innings

Indian women's cricket team batter VR Vanitha called time on her cricketing career on Monday (February 21). The versatile batter played six ODIs and 16 T20Is for India between 2014 and 2016.

Vanitha was the opener in the shortest format and a middle-order batter for India in ODIs. She made her national team debut against Sri Lanka in an ODI in 2014. She was also a part of the squad for the T20 World Cup in 2016, which was held in India.

The Karnataka-based player represented Karnataka and Bengal in domestic cricket and had fruitful stints with both teams. In the 2021-22 domestic season, Vanitha was in good form, helping Bengal reach the semi-finals of the Women's Senior One-Day Trophy.

She tallied 225 runs in the tournament, including a gritty 61 against Andhra Pradesh and a scintillating 71-ball 107 against Hyderabad. Her strike rate of 109.75 was also one stat to look out for.

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Speaking to Sportskeeda, Vanitha said the decision to hang her boots was not a sudden one. She explained:

"It wasn't a sudden decision. I've been thinking about it for a while now, from around 2019 to be exact. It was around that time when I wasn't getting a nod into the Indian team and various thoughts, like quitting the game, came to mind."

The 31-year-old added:

"I kept pushing myself, people close to me kept pushing me, I was constantly playing domestic cricket. I was being optimistic but chose to be realistic too."

The star batter thanked Mithali Raj, who she said would always be her captain, and speedster Jhulan Goswami apart from others. However, the decision to call it a day was entirely hers and she revealed that she did not talk to any of her teammates within the Indian set-up about it.

"I did not talk to anyone in the Indian team about the decision. I only spoke to Murali sir about it and I told him that I wasn't in a good mental space anymore. I was not enjoying playing and a knee injury too started plauging me more often."

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Vanitha ready for second innings

Vanitha said she was keen to give something back to the game and said coaching is on her radar. In her farewell post on social media, the batter said she would dedicate herself to "grooming young talents in cricket."

"Yes, coaching is definitely on my mind. That's where I will eventually get to. I have been mentoring children for quite some time now. I feel I have a lot to offer in this space. The children are very curious, eager to learn and improve as much as possible. I feel that with the experience of nearly two decades I have, I can make a difference here," she said.

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Vanitha is already helping youngsters hone their skills and hopes to make it a larger scale project soon. She said:

"I have a lot of youngsters approaching me for coaching. I helped them in starting their cricketing journey. I talk to him and I also keep a progress on their performances."

Vanitha concluded:

"I understand coaching is definitely going to be interesting. However, for now, I am going to take a small break with my family and then get back and set things in order."

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