PANAJI
At the age of fourteen, most teenagers are still figuring out their school syllabus. Vidhi Bhandare, however, is spinning through a different kind of challenge: bowling leg breaks in an all-male cricket league.
The STD IX student from Dr KB Hedgewar High School, Cujira, made history in Goa as the only female cricketer participating in the ongoing Panjim Gymkhana Members League (PGML), suiting up for the Manas Mavericks, immediate past winners of the league title.
Her initiation into the 'gentleman's' game wasn’t exactly planned.
The pandemic lockdowns had turned homes into classrooms, gyms and playgrounds. For Vidhi, it became a mini cricket academy. “I was into acting, karate and swimming before, but during lockdown, I had nothing to do,” she recalls. “I started watching cricket with my father and mama (maternal uncle). The Indian Premier League was on at the time and the more I watched, the more I fell in love with the game.”
What began as an idle pastime soon turned serious. With no access to professional coaching, Vidhi practiced in her room, batting against a hanging ball by the window. Bowling, however, was an accident. One evening, while playing in the apartment complex, her father noticed something peculiar, she was landing perfect googlies. That discovery led her to the Goa Cricket Association (GCA), where coach Santoshi Rane took her under her wing. By the age of ten, Vidhi was a recognised leg-spinner in state cricket circles. But PGML was in a different league.
“I had always played with boys my age or slightly older. This was my first time in a men’s tournament,” she says. “Initially, when the registration dates were announced, my parents were excited but also uncertain if I’d be accepted. The managing committee welcomed the idea, and the moment I was picked in the auction, I knew this was a big step.”
In the Manas Mavericks dressing room too, Vidhi, wearing the team's trademark vermilion kit, never felt out of place. “I was never treated differently. The team made me feel at home, and I never faced any awkward moments. It was like being part of a family,” she says. That inclusion was crucial, especially when she was handed the ball on her debut match. First over. First ball. First wicket.
“I just focused on keeping it simple—good line and length,” she recalls. “Before the match, our coach, Dhiraj Narvekar, told me to stay calm and bowl wicket to wicket. Just before I stepped in, our captain, Ilyas Naroo, gave me a pep talk. I was nervous, but that first wicket settled me down.”
Her selection wasn’t a symbolic gesture. The Manas Mavericks, a team backed by a well known Goa-based real estate company, Manas Developers, trusted her skill and she delivered. Vidhi’s performances earned her the respect of teammates and opponents alike.
For inspiration, she looks up to her father and uncle, but it’s another legendary leg-spinner who fuels her ambitions. “Shane Warne has always been my idol,” she says. Like Warne, Vidhi wants to leave a mark. Her dream is to play for India. “It’s a long journey, from state selections to zonals, but with determination, support, and hard work, I hope to get there.”
For now, she’s already shattered one stereotype at 22 yards. The PGML may have been her first step, but cricket, like life, has a long innings ahead for Vidhi Bhandare.
