Jintimani Kalita Makes India ODI Debut, Becomes Second Cricketer from Assam to Symbolize India

Assam’s Jintimani Kalita acquired her maiden India cap on Friday, changing into only the second cricketer from Assam, after wicketkeeper-batter Uma Chetry, to symbolize India on the Worldwide stage.

The 22-year-old seam-bowling allrounder made her Ladies’s ODI debut in the first match of India’s three-game collection towards Zimbabwe on the BCA Stadium in Vadodara on 23 October 2026, a landmark second for a player who has steadily turned promise into opportunity.

Kalita’s call-up got here at short notice, with the BCCI naming her as a alternative for Renuka Singh Thakur, who was nonetheless constructing the bowling volume required for the 50-over format. It was a fitting reward for a bowler who has been quietly constructing a case via India A cricket, and for a state that continues to provide players able to competing on the highest stage.

The occasion carried added significance for Indian girls’s cricket. This was India’s first ODI since February 2026, their opening match of the brand new ICC Ladies’s Championship cycle that runs till the 2029 ODI World Cup, and only their second collection since their maiden World Cup triumph last year. Below new skipper Smriti Mandhana, India arrived on the again of a dominant 3-0 T20I whitewash over Zimbabwe in a historic first white-ball bilateral collection between the groups, played from 16 to 28 October.

Zimbabwe, taking part in their first-ever girls’s ODI towards India, had been led by stand-in captain Nomvelo Sibanda after common skipper Josephine Nkomo was dominated out with a niggle. Sibanda gained the toss and selected to bat on a red-soil floor on the Kotambi Stadium, a notable change from the black-soil pitch used during this year’s WPL fixtures on the same venue.

Kalita’s path to international cricket has been defined by persistence. She created historical past in 2023 as the primary lady cricketer from Assam to feature in the Ladies’s Premier League, when Mumbai Indians signed her for Rs 10 lakh on the inaugural public sale. Throughout six innings and 13 matches for Mumbai Indians in the 2023 and 2025 WPL seasons, she took one wicket at an economic system rate of 8.28, gaining invaluable exposure alongside established international stars.

She was signed by Gujarat Giants as a alternative for Titas Sadhu forward of the fourth WPL edition in 2026, though she did not get a sport that season. Her international credentials, nonetheless, had been strengthened by a productive India A marketing campaign. In opposition to England A in June-July 2026, she returned figures of 1 for 29 from six overs in the first one-day sport and 0 for 40 from seven overs in the second.

Kalita has additionally proven sufficient with the bat to challenge herself as a real seam-bowling allrounder. She made an unbeaten 26 from 32 balls in the second one-dayer towards England A on 1 July, then struck 19 not out from 19 deliveries towards Australia A on 25 September, helping India A chase down 363 and win by 4 wickets. These innings underlined her value as a lower-order finisher.

For Kalita, the cap offered by Harmanpreet Kaur represented more than a private milestone. It marked Assam’s growing footprint in Indian girls’s cricket and offered a glimpse of a player whose WPL beginnings, India A performances, and all-round ability set have lastly converged on the international stage. As India start their quest toward the 2029 ODI World Cup, Kalita’s debut is both a celebration of her journey and an early signal of the depth India hope to build upon.

I am Yash Tailor, and I consider work must be driven by ardour. Due to this fact, after finishing my Engineering, I selected to work in the Cricket industry, my ardour. My goal is to reach a stage where I truly take pleasure in what I do and provides my greatest to every task with power and goal.

Source: femalecricket.com