Who's Meghna Singh? - 10 facts about the uncapped player selected for India's tour of Australia

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Indian women’s squads for the one-off Test, ODI and T20I series for their tour of Australia earlier this week. Mithali Raj is all set to captain the side for the historic day-night Test and the ODI series, while Harmanpreet Kaur will take the mantle to skipper the side for the T20Is.

The Indian women are all geared up to play their first-ever pink-ball Test at the WACA in Perth from September 30 to October 3. The team is entering into this historic Test after having pulled an impressive draw against England in Bristol earlier this year. The key names have retained their spot in the team whereas Sneh Rana found a spot in the Test and ODI squad after a splendid outing in England.

Renuka Singh Thakur, Yastika Bhatia and Meghna Singh are the three uncapped players who have made it to the Indian squads for the Australia tour. For Meghna Singh, who has stacked firmly against all odds, the national selection is no doubt a dream come true moment just like it is for every cricketer. Her inclusion in the side is expected to strengthen the pace attack of India which already has the services of Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey.

1. Playing Style

27-year-old Meghna Singh is a right-arm medium pacer and a lower-order batter. She is considered to be a wonderful outswing bowler and comes in handy with the bat in the lower order.

2. Born in Uttar Pradesh

Meghna hails from the city of Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh. She practiced and took up the training for cricket in Uttar Pradesh.

3. Daughter of security guard

Meghna’s father Vijay Singh is the one who always supported her passion for the sport. He is a security guard at Dwarikesh Sugar Industries in Bareilly, whereas her mother Reena Singh is an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker.

4. The Uttar Pradesh star

Meghna Singh is the second woman cricketer from Uttar Pradesh to have been selected to play in the Indian Blues. India’s spinner Poonam Yadav is the first to have achieved this feat.

5. Worked for Indian Railways

Singh had received a job as a booking clerk in Muradabad Railways. She stayed at the Railways stadiums and armed her talent better.

6. Grew up playing cricket with boys

Singh grew up playing cricket with children in her locality as she did not have local girls’ team to play.

7. Traveled 24 kilometers for training

In her early days, the routine for Meghna was a grueling one. She used to wake up at 4 am in the morning to travel 24 kilometers from Kasba Kotwali to Nehru Stadium, Bijnore in interior Uttar Pradesh with her father for her cricket training.

8. Trained under Lakshyaraj Tyagi

Lakshyaraj Tyagi is known to have produced many Ranji Trophy players for Uttar Pradesh. Singh used to train at the academy under the watchful eyes of Tyagi.

9. The road to national selection

Meghna Singh produced some solid performances in the domestic circuit in 2019. She also displayed her repertoire while playing for India A against Sri Lanka. These impactful performances fashioned her selection for the national team.

10. Amongst the young faces to tour Australia

Singh is amongst the three uncapped players who have made it to the Indian squad for the Australia tour. Baroda left-hand batter Yastika Bhatia and all-rounder Renuka Singh from Himachal Pradesh are the other two players to feature in the squads.