Added Myself To Kayla Reyneke Fan Club, She Will Take Women’s Cricket To Greater Heights, Says Anjum Chopra

Added myself to Kayla Reyneke fan club, she will take women’s cricket to greater heights, says Anjum (Image Source: IANS)

T20 World Cup: Former India captain Anjum Chopra has declared herself as the newest addition to South Africa batter Kayla Reyneke's fan club, saying the young batting all-rounder has the ability to take women's cricket to greater heights, where everyone sits up and takes notice of the sport.

At the same time, she backed India to find the strategy to handle her threat in the upcoming five-game T20I series starting on April 17 in Durban. Kayla has been the talk of the women's cricket ecosystem by picking up two Player of the Match awards in her first four T20I matches, including on debut against Pakistan in Potchefstroom, where she hit a last-ball winning six.

On her ODI debut against New Zealand in Christchurch last month, Kayla smashed a last-ball six to clinch a thrilling win for the Proteas and remain unbeaten on 42 off 32 balls to earn another Player of the Match award on debut. She also became the first women’s cricketer to be named Player of the Match in both ODI and T20I debuts.

"I am added to Kayla Reyneke's fan club. I have watched her play and she is an outstanding player, especially in the first ODI when she was up with the challenge of scoring 14 in the last over against New Zealand and getting those six runs on the last ball - I watched that game live.

"I was watching how cool, calm, collected she was in the crease, though a little nervous, which any 20-year-old should be. At the end of the day, backing herself to perform the way she’s done - I am the latest entrant into Kayla Reyneke's fan club and I feel that it's very exciting to have a player like her on the international circuit.

"She is one of those players who will take women's cricket to possibly those heights where everyone takes notice and says, 'Wow, there is power, but there is also calmness in the way that the players are playing the sport now,'" said Anjum in an exclusive conversation with IANS.

On how India should approach the threat Kayla poses, Anjum expressed confidence in the side finding their way to keep her quiet. "It won't be that difficult. There are obviously weaknesses in every cricketer. There will be some areas where she will also be a little susceptible to.

“So, it will be interesting to see how India actually prepares for Kayla Reyneke's onslaught because she is a very strong player on the on-side, down the ground as well. How does the Indian team come up with a strategy? Let's wait and watch. Let's see what they come up with and against which bowler they are keen to throw up against Kayla Reyneke," she added.

Turning to India's remarkable run of ICC trophy wins since 2025 and the prospect of adding the Women's T20 World Cup in 2026 to that glittering cabinet, Anjum said the sight of seeing five ICC trophies together at the Naman awards last month in New Delhi was a deeply moving moment and that she was unabashedly hopeful of one more.

"Personally, I felt like a kid in a candy store when I had five World Cup trophies in front of me. It's been a very humbling year and a half or two for Indian cricket. I'll be greedy like any Indian to say that one more in 2026 for the T20 World Cup, especially with the women playing, will be very nice.

“We are now getting ICC trophies back in our country. We always knew that we are a good side, but we now possibly can say that we know how we can become a champion side. Getting into the semifinals and final - our teams knew. But now winning the final - the players are well and truly aware of it and it will be exciting," she said.

However, Anjum added that failure to add to the trophy haul would sting more sharply now that the taste of winning had set in. "If by any chance we don't win it, I think it will be really hurting to the players as well and to everybody around because now the taste of success is there with everyone. If you don't taste that success, there'll be utmost disappointment. So, it's up to the players.

"Harman said after the ODI World Cup win, she knows the thing about losing and she wants to experience the feeling of winning. That entire feeling is going to be there with each and every cricketer who has been a part of that journey of getting to a World Cup win – whether it’s men and women or under-19s," she said.

India’s best ever result in the Women’s T20 World Cup has been runners-up finish in the 2020 edition of the competition in Australia and the quest to add the trophy will begin from June 12 in England. "These are times that I'm sure the players are working very hard. We from the outside are also very keen that one more trophy must come our way. Hopefully, it comes our way.

“No pressure - as we were told by our seniors from the administration as well, and Jay bhai also said it - no pressure on Rohit, Harman, and Surya. But at the end of the day, I guess it's but obvious what we all want - because I personally as a cricketer have seen so many trophies go away from the Indian dressing room.

India’s best ever result in the Women’s T20 World Cup has been runners-up finish in the 2020 edition of the competition in Australia and the quest to add the trophy will begin from June 12 in England. "These are times that I'm sure the players are working very hard. We from the outside are also very keen that one more trophy must come our way. Hopefully, it comes our way.

“So, before we get to the final in Lord's in 2026 to win the T20 World Cup, there is an entire tournament to be played and that is going to be very essential as well. Live the game one day at a time and then we'll see what happens in the final," she concluded.

Article Source: IANS