Karnataka's 'Royal Challengers'

Sahana Pawar

The numbers 317 and 397 in the first ever Women’s Premier League auction belonged to Karnataka’s Shreyanka Patil and Sahana Pawar respectively.

“317 is my lucky number because I was born on the 31st of July,” said an elated Shreyanka who is still coming to terms with everything that transpired on Monday.

However, Sahana - the last one to get picked - didn’t make too much of either the number nor the occasion until it all magically fell into place.

“It was an unexpected surprise. Who would have thought this would happen?,” said Sahana, who is over the moon.

Whether the numbers aligned with their destinies or not, the two die-hard fans of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, on Monday, became a part of their 18-member squad.

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The 20-year-old Shreyanka, a bowling all-rounder, and 26-year-old Sahana, a left-arm spinner, were picked by the Bengaluru franchise for their base price of Rs 10 lakh.

The run-up to the moment of truth for the two girls, they admit, was filled with anxiety, excitement, fear - a feeling they had never experienced before.

“I hardly slept the previous night. I woke up and decided not to skip practice,” said Shreyanka, who bowls off-spin and likes donning the role of a finisher at 5-6 while batting.

“At 2.30 pm, me and my coach Arjun Dev (of Nice Cricket Academy) sat in front of the I-pad. My hands started sweating and I have never felt so restless. The one-hour break in between before they announced my name was the most difficult,” she added.

For Sahana, it was handling the tense situation by casually going about her routine as if it was just another day.

“It was a fitness session followed by practice. I barely followed the auction,” said Sahana, who trains under coach Ibrahim at the Sheen Academy on Kanakapura Road.

“I realised something big had happened to me only when I started receiving congratulatory calls. The news hasn’t sunk in yet.”

While each one tackled the auction in different ways, one thing is for sure. The course of their careers and lives has changed in ways they could have never imagined.

Gujarat ropes in Monica

Another youngster from Karnataka, Monica Patel, was roped in by Gujarat Giants for Rs 30 lakh.

The 23-year-old, a left-arm medium pacer, a regular member of the State’s senior women’s team, had earned her maiden India call-up for a limited overs series against South Africa in 2021.