Shreyanka Patil opens up on Jasprit Bumrah’s role in her comeback

NEW DELHI: India all-rounder Shreyanka Patil feels like she is starting from scratch after a series of injuries kept her away from the game for more than a year, a phase that taught the 23-year-old some hard but valuable lessons about life as a professional cricketer early in her career.

Shreyanka went through a tough sequence of setbacks — beginning with shin splints after the T20 World Cup 2024 , followed by a wrist injury, and just when she felt confident of returning to the national setup ahead of the ODI World Cup at home last year, she suffered a fractured thumb.

Frustration soon set in as she struggled to get back on the field. During the initial phase of her recovery, Shreyanka locked herself in a room, but support from her family and timely interactions with fellow Indian cricketers, including Jasprit Bumrah, at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru helped her realise she was not alone in dealing with injury setbacks.

India T20 captain Surykumar Yadav and Shreyanka’s RCB teammates Asha Shobhana and Kanika Ahuja were also present at the CoE during that period.

Learning to cope with injury setbacks

Speaking to select media ahead of the Women’s Premier League, Shreyanka opened up about the mental and emotional toll of dealing with back-to-back injuries.

"Initially, I thought, okay, fine, it'll just go off in some time. But I wasn't prepared, as I mentioned. And then I had to actually start thinking about how I can come out of it," Shreyanka said.

"Because I had not gone through it before. So I had to come out with some answers, some solutions, be talking to people, just expressing how I'm feeling. I was not that open, though I'm such a bubbly extrovert. But I just couldn't talk to people. I just locked up myself in a room for more than two, three months.

"That was not me. But later on, I was like, how long am I going to do this? There was a question mark. That's when I started talking to people, not just women cricketers, but also guys who are there around the COE."

Conversations that changed the mindset

Those casual chats about cricket and life with the likes of Bumrah helped Shreyanka feel more comfortable about the phase she was going through.

"Just some random conversation about cricket, about life, whatever it was. So that's when I started forgetting about my injury. And actually trying to feed my mind through positive thoughts.

"So yes, there were, I made a few friends over there in COE, mostly girls, so I know most of them. And then the boys also, they were like, Bumrah, Sky, Riyan, Mayank Yadav.

"Talking to them made me feel like, okay, I'm not alone in this. So I'm not the only one facing a lot of problems," she said.

Though she is an off-spinner, Shreyanka was particularly keen on speaking to Bumrah, who has dealt with multiple injury setbacks during his illustrious career.

Lessons from Bumrah that stayed

"When I got to know Bumrah is coming to COE, I was a little excited. I was like, I have lots of questions to ask. And then I went to him. And he being a very sweet person, he kind of said, Okay, let's talk someday. And then after a couple of days, he's like, Shreyanka, if you're free, let's have a chat. I was like, Oh, okay."

"I had a few questions regarding bowling as he bowls a lot under pressure. I know he's a fast bowler, I'm a spinner, but I do bowl in the death overs too. So I wanted to ask him, how do you practice when it comes to yorkers?

"Is it like you bowl to batters, you bowl to hitters, you just do spot bowling? I had those questions. And then he came up with some brilliant answers."

When it came to handling injuries, Bumrah’s advice left a lasting impression on her.

"What he also told me was that this is okay, what you're going through, everyone will go through. You're facing this in a very young age. So just be in it. Don't fight it to just be in it. So that was a lovely advice from him, because he's also gone through a lot of injuries himself."

Shreyanka made her competitive return during the Caribbean Premier League last October. After completing her first match without any issues, she became emotional and struggled to hold back her tears.

Those injury setbacks meant she missed out on being part of India’s title-winning ODI World Cup campaign at home. With the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in the UK later this year, Shreyanka remains confident about getting another chance to lift an ICC trophy.

(With PTI Inputs)