A few days back, vital cog of the Indian women’s team, Deepti Sharma, was felicitated with the prestigious Arjuna Award.
The off-spinning all-rounder was part of India’s impressive campaign in the 2017 Women’s ODI World Cup in England and the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
Now, Deepti has stated that the auspicious accolade is a result of the hard work, she has put in over the years.
“I have worked really hard from the beginning and my family has supported me a lot. Even my coach Sumit bhaiyya has worked hard with me and we have specific training at our academy in Agra. Luckily even during the pandemic, I have practiced continuously. So those efforts have borne fruit today. I was always waiting for this moment to get the Arjuna Award,” Deepti Sharma said in a video shared by BCCI’s official Instagram account.
Apart from Deepti, the other Sharmas felicitated with honours were Ishant (Arjuna Award) and Rohit (Khel Ratna). Thus, making the entire ‘Sharma’ clan proud.
Deepti holds the record for the highest individual score by an Indian in women’s ODI cricket.
Back in 2017, Deepti amassed 188 runs against Ireland at Potchefstroom, thereby, registering the third-highest individual score in women’s ODIs. Further, she has as many as 117 international wickets to her name.
Later on during the conversation, the all-rounder reckoned that the honour has only added more responsibilities on her as a cricketer.
“After getting this award, the responsibility of every player increases and they get motivated to perform better for the country. Whoever represents the country, if our name also gets mentioned, it feels good . I have met the cricketers and it feels really good,” Deepti added.
The 23-year old is scheduled to take part in the 2020 edition of the Women’s IPL T20 challenge, donning the jersey of the Trailblazers.
