This Bengaluru doctor leads German cricket team

“I love the way Anuradha Doddaballapur and Sharanya Sadarangani are calling in Kannada,” a cricket expert, while watching one of the Germany-Austria T20Is, pointed out on Twitter recently. What were two Karnataka-origin girls doing in the German cricket team?

Perhaps, if not for Anuradha’s special feat in the women’s T20I in Lower Austria last Friday, not many would have known that there are three Indians (Karthika Vijayaraghavan being the third) in the German eves’ squad.

Anuradha, in the penultimate game of the five-match series, bagged four wickets in four balls to be the first in women’s T20I to achieve such a feat. “I am overwhelmed,” begins Anuradha in a chat with DH. “Once I got back to my phone after the match, so many people had sent me congratulatory messages. That’s when I realised it was a record,” gushes the German team’s captain.

Living in Frankfurt, Anuradha is a postdoctoral research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, balancing work and cricket with no time for complaints.

The Bengaluru girl’s love for cricket blossomed when she joined the Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIOC) at the age of 10. The right-arm medium pacer represented the Karnataka age-group teams before getting picked for the senior State team. After that, Anuradha faced the typical passion versus paying profession dilemma.

“Back then, cricket wasn’t a financially viable option. Women’s cricket wasn’t even under BCCI. Not many girls picked up the sport,” says Anuradha, justifying her decision to pursue her higher education in England.

At Newcastle University, a post-graduation in medical genetics was her priority but cricket was her constant companion. “After playing for the University, I completed two county seasons before heading to Germany to do a Ph.D. in cardiovascular biology in 2011,” says the 33-year-old.

Anuradha is thrilled with how the women’s game has emerged out of the shadows of men’s cricket. Quiz her if she regrets any of her decisions and the answer is a resounding 'no'. As a women's development officer, and coach at Frankfurt Cricket Club, she is promoting women's cricket in Germany in her own small way.

“Cricket is just one part of my life. It’s great to see women’s cricket being televised. Harmanpreet Kaur and Ellyse Perry are pioneers of the game today. That said, I am happy with every step I took. For the kinds of people I have met and for the kinds of experiences I have had, I wouldn’t trade them for anything. Germany is my new home and I enjoy playing for them,” she says.

KIOC director and chief coach Irfan Sait credits Anuradha and some of her team-mates for the revival of Karnataka cricket in the late 90s. “Anuradha would lead the attack with Pooja Shah. In an U-19 national tournament in Karimnagar, Anuradha got four wickets while Pooja picked up five as Karnataka dismissed the mighty Mumbai for 55. Incidentally, Sindhu Sriharsha, who is the USA women’s team captain today, had seven dismissals behind the stumps that match,” he recollects.