Leaving Tragedies Behind, Veda Krishnamurthy Desperate To Revive Career Through WPL

Tragedies and snubs are nothing new for Veda Krishnamurthy as she has seen it all in the last three years, but the out-of-favour India cricketer is desperate to make a fresh start and has pinned her hopes on the upcoming WPL to regain her spot in the national women's side. Having got a snub in the inaugural Women's Premier League auction earlier this year, a leaner and much fitter Veda is now hoping to earn a WPL contract on Saturday, an opportunity which can open the national team's door for her. "I feel that the ability and experience I have will not take much time for me to get into a system and adjust again. It is all about going there and showcasing whatever I can," Veda told PTI in an exclusive interview.

"Definitely, it's (WPL) a great platform for players, especially who are on the same boat like me. I haven't played international cricket for the last three years, so this is a platform where you want to do well, and if you are able go and perform in situations and platforms like this it opens up the door for the Indian team as well.

"We have seen that happen in men's cricket. So that is something which I will have in my mind." Veda, who has played 48 ODIs scoring 829 runs with a best score of 71, was an integral part of the Indian team that finished runner-up in the 2017 Women's ODI World Cup final, losing to hosts England by just nine runs at Lord's.

Veda was also part of India's squad for the 2018 and 2020 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournaments in the West Indies and Australia respectively.

But twin personal tragedies halted her career in 2021 when she lost her mother and elder sister to COVID in a span of two weeks, and it took her a long time and effort to come out of that.

"Very difficult, honestly, because