Who is Sobhana Asha? 5 interesting facts about RCB star who took a fifer at Chinnaswamy in WPL 2024
Sobhana Asha won the Player of the Match award in yesterday's WPL 2024 game between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and UP Warriorz. The uncapped player made history by becoming the first cricketer to take a five-wicket haul in Women's Premier League history.
Besides, Asha also became the first Indian player to record a five-wicket haul in any women's franchise T20 league. The rising star of Royal Challengers Bangalore dismissed Tahlia McGrath, Kiran Navgire, Vrinda Dinesh, Grace Harris, and Shweta Sehrawat to return with figures of 5/22 in four overs.
Sobhana Asha's magnificent bowling performance guided the Royal Challengers Bangalore to a two-run victory against the UP Warriorz. In this article, we will look at the five things that fans should know about the newest star of WPL 2024.
#1 Sobhana Asha played 5 matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore in WPL 2023
Asha has been with the Royal Challengers Bangalore since the inaugural season of the Women's Premier League. The uncapped player played five matches for RCB last season and returned with five wickets.
This year, she already has five wickets to her name after just one game. It will be interesting to see if the leg-spinner can end the season as the highest wicket-taker.
#2 Sobhana Asha was born in Trivandrum
While Asha represents the Royal Challengers Bangalore in WPL 2024, she was born in Kerala's Trivandrum. The leg-spinner has represented Puducherry Women, Kerala Women and Railways Women at the domestic level.
Her last domestic appearance came for the Railways Women team in the 2021 Women's Senior One Day Trophy. Asha won the trophy with Railways Women and starred in the team's championship win by scoring 110 runs and scalping six wickets in the competition.
#3 Royal Challengers Bangalore signed Asha for ₹10 lakh at the WPL 2023 Auction
As mentioned earlier, Royal Challengers Bangalore signed Asha at the previous Women's Premier League auction. The Bangalore-based franchise secured her services at her base price of ₹10 lakh.
RCB have catapulted many uncapped players' careers to the next level in the IPL. By backing Asha, they have an opportunity to take her career to a whole new level in the WPL now.
#4 Sobhana Asha can contribute with the bat as well
Royal Challengers Bangalore have a stacked batting lineup, which is why they majorly use Asha in the lower middle-order. Even in the previous Women's Premier League tournament, she got an opportunity to bat only twice in five matches, where she scored six runs.
Asha scored 110 runs for Railways Women in the Women's Senior One Day Trophy 2021. Although the format was different, Asha's aggregate shows that she can bat higher up the order if needed.
#5 Sachin Tendulkar and Neetu David were Sobhana Asha's first cricketing inspiration
According to The Sports Grail, Sobhana became a fan of cricket after she watched Sachin Tendulkar's Desert Storm knock in the 1997/98 Coca Cola Cup match against Australia. Her first exposure to women's cricket was when she watched Neetu David bowl during an international game.
Sobhana then met former Kerala captain Shabina Jacob, which was the turning point of her career. She started as a pacer in her teenage years but later switched to a leg-spinner.