New Delhi, April 28 (IANS): The first match of 2024 Women’s Premier League (WPL) was its way of seeing a nail-biting finish. Mumbai Indians were chasing 172 for victory against Delhi Capitals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and needed 12 runs off the last over to begin their campaign with a win.

Off-spin all-rounder Alice Capsey, though, brought a twist by removing Pooja Vastrakar and Harmanpreet Kaur with five deliveries. With five runs needed off the last ball, debutant all-rounder Sajeevan Sajana walked in, with many wondering which way the game would end.

For the last ball, Capsey fired in a full delivery and Sajana danced down the pitch to heave over the long on fence for six, sparking jubilant scenes in the MI dugout. Sajana screamed in delight over making her team win in an intense under-pressure situation and announcing herself in style on the biggest stage for women’s cricket in India with a victorious last-ball six.

Cut to now, and Sajana, on the back of her good WPL showing for MI, is on the verge of potentially playing for India when their five-match series against Bangladesh begins at Sylhet from Sunday afternoon.

Apart from chipping in with some overs of off-spin, Sajana’s skillset as a hard-hitting finisher is something which India have been looking for in terms of lower-order muscle, considering she had a strike rate of 158 in WPL 2024, which was the highest by an Indian batter in the tournament.

Kiran More, the former India men’s wicketkeeper-batter who served as MI women’s General Manager in WPL 2024, recalled how Sajana’s last-ball unforgettable finish and her excelling as a finisher was a result of the team’s support staff enhancing her abilities and attitude in the lead-up and during the tournament.

"Specific roles are given to each individual in the team and the coaches we have, they do a wonderful job. We had to change Sajana’s mindset a little bit because when players represent their state teams, they have a different set up, and mindset there. But here we decided, ‘Ok you can go, and hit the first ball for six or boundary. If you get out, doesn't matter’.”

“She was a little bit hesitant initially when this mindset change came, but a lot of credit goes to the support staff for putting in a lot of efforts. They put in her mind that you have to be positive from the word go. They talked to her about the mindset when needed to hit a boundary or six on the last ball, or winning the match by scoring 15-20 runs in the last over.”

“She was also made to practice a lot for scenarios like this in the nets before the WPL began. Once Sajana started believing in herself on this, we as support staff gave her a lot of positive inputs. We told her, ‘It doesn't matter if you score two or three zeros. We want you to go and hit first ball for six or boundary’.”

“At MI, we give a lot of specific roles to individual players and that's how they do well. Once you trust them, you have to believe in them because they have the abilities to do well and they will definitely deliver when it matters the most, which is what Sajana did for us in the opening match,” said More in an exclusive conversation with IANS, facilitated by the franchise.

More, also an MI talent scout, noticed Sajana, who represents Kerala in domestic cricket, in the trials before the WPL auction happened in December 2023, where she was picked up by the franchise for INR 15 lakhs. His first impression was that Sajana was different from other players at the trials, and more importantly, a team person first apart from having that tall built for smashing sixes.

“She is a lovable person and is always ready to help anyone. Basically, when people come at the trials, they have more individual thoughts and think about their own things. But Sajana was different, ready to help people, running around and very talkative on the field. She wanted to do well for herself and for the team as well.”

“When you look at a player, you recognise their character very quickly as we always look them from a team player perspective. Definitely, it was not an easy call to straight away get Sajana in the team, but there was always something different about her.”

“We were looking at a player who can come and hit a six or boundary from the first ball, which most of the Indian girls don't do. A couple of players do it and Sajana is a player who does that. We saw it and made a call that she can be a part of Mumbai Indians team,” he added.

In MI’s last league match of WPL 2024, Sajana was promoted to open the batting alongside Hayley Matthews, where she smashed a 21-ball 30, before being castled by a jaffa from Ellyse Perry. More said the MI support staff had analysed how Sajana can be used in the opening role when she was brought on board for WPL 2024.

“We believed in her and that's why we said that day, ‘Okay, she should be sent to open the innings and give us a good start’. In T20s, a person goes, plays some shots and gets a good 30-40 runs in power-play, which we felt she can do that for us.”

For years, MI has successfully unearthed domestic talent through its intense and wide scouting team who made a successful transition to playing international cricket like, like Pandya brothers – Hardik and Krunal, and Jasprit Bumrah. Suryakumar Yadav earned an India call-up after doing well for MI in three-four seasons.

The same scouting model is now being replicated for women’s cricket, where six members in India’s squad, including captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Sajana, for Bangladesh T20I tour come from the MI set-up in the WPL. Last year, MI unearthed left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque, who became the breakout star of WPL 2023 with 15 scalps and is now in Indian team.

“When we go for scouting, we always believe local talent is very important for us. When you have local players in the team who are match winners, that becomes the key for us to be champions. We look at the local players and groom them. Our job is not to just select them; we take care of them all around the year.”

“MI is a nursery of Indian cricket. I don't want to talk much about the men's, as we have produced a lot of cricketers. But for women's, we have started off, like Amanjot and Saika have made a huge impact in Indian women's team. We look and create a player who will perform for MI, where the standard is so high, as getting into the team is very difficult.”

“If someone gets into MI team and does well, I think she has got a good opportunity to walk straight away into Indian team. That's what happened to Saika and Amanjot. Now with Sajana in Indian team, it's a beginning for Mi as we'll produce a lot more players for the national side. There are a couple of players who we have in the team and you will see them in future playing for India,” stated More.

Hailing from a humble family in Mananthavady, a village in Kerala's Wayanad district, Sajana’s journey to entering the national set-up hasn’t been a smooth ride. But faith in herself, motivation and commitment to excel in the game despite facing numerous challenges has been a phenomenal ride.

In a 2018 Tamil sports-drama movie Kanna, Sajana had played a cameo role of a player nursing the ambition to play for India alongside actor Aishwarya Rajesh and was even in the playing eleven which played against Bangladesh. If Sajana is handed her India debut in Bangladesh, it will be the case of reel turning into reality.

More believes this is just the beginning for a terrific talent like Sajana to leave her mark at the international level. “She's a very hardworking and very disciplined player; manages herself very professionally and is an outstanding bowler. When you go and play at the top level, you cannot remain at that level only. You have to keep on improving and your graph has to be really be on top all the time, because now a lot of people will be watching her.”

“They will be thinking, what are her positives and weaknesses? What she has in batting and bowling? It's a good start for her, but she'll have to really work extra hard, and put her mind in areas to improve in the game and take it forward from there. I don't want to put any pressure on her. She has to just go and perform in the way she has done for Mumbai Indians.”

More also thinks Sajana fits in well into the requirements of Indian team who are now on the road to preparing for the Women’s T20 World Cup, to be held later this year in Bangladesh. “Whatever specific role is given to her by Indian team coach Amol Mazumdar, she has to perform in that for the team. Performing for India is a different ball game altogether as you're representing your country.

“That feeling of playing for India gives one goosebumps, which is something all of us dream for. When I look at the Indian team batting order, Sajana fits in very well, as they need a player at number six or seven who can go and hit boundaries and sixes. Plus she can give you a couple of bowling overs and fields very well.”

“That's why the coach and selectors must have thought, ‘Oh wow, she can be a good X-factor for Indian women's cricket team and can deliver for us’. So with Sajana coming in, the team will definitely look stronger in that area. You'll see their performances will improve and hopefully India becomes champion in this year’s (T20) World Cup.”