Watch the full interview here.

“It was a big moment when I was selected to the India senior’s team. It’s a dream for everyone. Everyone doesn’t get it. In all of India, it’s just 15. I am a part of the 15.”

Kamalini Gunalan, aged 17, made her debut for India in December 2025. What seems like a fairytale on the outside, has grit, determination, sweat, tears and a lot of risk hidden on the inside. Let’s rewind a bit.

There was a young skating champion, who just happened to tag along with her brother to his cricket academy to watch him bat. Little did she know, life had taken a major turn.

“When I was a nine-year-old kid, I started skating. It went on for three years and I achieved gold and silver medals. At that time, my brother was playing cricket. I went to the Academy just to watch him play. I don’t what happened I just bowled four-five balls to him. I bowled well,” she said.

“After the first time she bowled to me, I told dad she was bowling incredibly well. Then she would bat with me. She would fluently play drives and defence shots,” said Kamalini’s brother, Dominic Kishore.

This was in Madurai, a city known for its temples and textiles. Chennai, Tamil Nadu’s capital, was where you had to be if you wanted to be in the middle of all the cricketing action. Kamalini’s father was caught in the crossroads, between the town and the city.

“I started my cricket in Madurai actually,” said Kamalini. “Sometimes I would travel to Chennai to play some tournaments. In all the tournaments, I was the top run-getter. My dad told my mother that we were travelling a lot and it was very expensive. So he asked her if we could all move to Chennai, and she said, ‘no, it’s not possible’.”

“I did not agree. I asked on what assurance were we thinking of moving to Chennai. I felt we should stay back,” said Saranya, Kamalini’s mother.

“My mother, my sister, and I said, ‘let’s not go to Chennai’. We can continue to play here in Madurai and manage. But it was dad who insisted that we move and said he would manage,” said Kishore.

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The plunge was taken.  

“Dad would never utter a word about his financial struggles. He would only say, ‘you play cricket well. I will take care of everything’.”

“I just felt I had to put in the hard work and give the kids a chance to achieve something,” said Gunalan, Kamalini’s father. “This belief is what made me leave my whole world behind in Madurai and come to Chennai. Back in our hometown, hardly any women cricketers played at the district level. Kamalini was among the first to play there.”

Just playing well wasn’t enough. Fighting gender barriers, social barriers, the family was fighting it all.  

“People used to question why we were allowing her to play cricket. Everyone was totally against our decision to support her,” Saranya said.

“Relatives used to ask why we were wasting money on her. They would say we could live a better life by saving that money. Why waste the money on moving to Chennai, that too on a girl child,” said Kishore.

And the battle wasn’t just off the field. Scoring runs weren’t enough. Even on the field, stereotypes were to be broken.

“I was the only girl playing the match. They used to say, ‘she’s a girl yaar. Put her at third man or fine leg’. Even though I used to field well. After that I worked a lot on my batting and bowling,” Kamalini said.

“She used to wake up as early as 5am. After freshening up, she used to go running for five kilometers every day. After finishing her 5km run, she used to hit the nets. She would train for a couple of hours and then again in the evening for three hours,” Gunalan added.

“After one or two months I went again to the match,” said Kamalini. “The boys there literally gave a handshake and said ‘you are playing better than us’. In that moment I felt I had achieved something.”

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It wasn’t just physical, but even mental toughening that Kamalini had to go through early on in life. Gunalan, after one training session of throwing balls for two-three hours, on his way back home, suddenly experienced severe chest pain. He’d had a heart attack. Kamalini visited him when he was unconscious in the hospital.

“Seeing her father in the hospital like that, Kamalini got emotional. She touched his feet, sought his blessings and left for the match,” said Saranya.

“She went on to score a century at that state match,” said Gunalan, struggling to hold back tears. “She’s a strong girl.”

“I was a kid at that time. I just thought, ‘if I play well, my dad would be fine’,” Kamalini said. Her mother added, “My victory is my dad’s victory, she used to say.”

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An Indian under-19 World Cup winning campaign followed. A 2025 WPL Auction where Mumbai Indians aggressively bid for the then 16-year-old was further testament to her being special. Finishing a match on debut showed everyone just why. She was among the five players retained ahead of the Mega Auction in 2026. Team India came calling. Gunalan sums it up perfectly.

“In life, whenever you experience a setback, God sets you up for a comeback.”