Renuka Singh Thakur

A wily right-arm swing bowler, Renuka Singh Thakur was brought up in Shimla and started her domestic career with the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Academy. 

In the 2019-20 Senior Women's Challenger Trophy, the pacer got the opportunity to represent Himachal Pradesh, where she ended up being the leading wicket-taker. The 26-year-old scalped 23 wickets with an impressive average and caught the attention of the national selectors. In the 2020-21 edition of the same championship, she picked up 9 wickets in 5 matches with a best of 4 for 49.

After those heroics in the domestic competitions, the Shimla-born cricketer got the maiden call-up in the national side for the multi-format Australia tour in 2021. She was a part of the 1st T20I, but unfortunately, rain didn't allow the game to get going. 

Renuka got the opportunity to bowl in the second game, where she bowled her full quota but failed to bag any wickets. However, in the third and last game of the series, she did manage to pick up the crucial wicket of Alyssa Healy. 

In January 2022, she was drafted into the Indian side for the Women's World Cup in New Zealand. However, before the World Cup, she made her ODI debut against New Zealand in February 2022, receiving her cap from Indian Skipper Mithali Raj. 

Stepping onto the grand stage for her Women’s T20 International debut against Australia, the right-arm medium-fast bowler introduced herself with promise. Her controlled pace and sharp swing showed early flashes of the talent that had been simmering under the surface. Her debut was more than a stepping stone—it was a glimpse into the future of Indian women’s fast bowling.

But Renuka's journey to the national side did not begin overnight. Long before her T20I debut, she had already been weaving her story in the domestic circuit. Representing Himachal Pradesh, she had proved herself a force to reckon with. In the 2019-20 Senior Women's One Day League, Renuka had claimed the spotlight as the leading wicket-taker, snaring 23 scalps and showing her ability to break partnerships and shift the momentum. That was just a preview of the aggressive, match-winning bowler she was about to become on the international stage.

In February 2022, she earned her maiden Women's One Day International cap against New Zealand, stepping into the 50-over format with the same fire that had fueled her domestic dominance. Though still new to the rhythm of international cricket, she quickly adapted—her run-up, smooth and unhurried, became a prelude to the chaos she would often unleash on opposition batters.

But it was in the glowing spotlight of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham that Renuka truly exploded onto the world stage. While India returned with a silver medal, Renuka walked away with gold-standard performances. She emerged as the highest wicket-taker of the tournament, claiming 11 wickets in just five matches, a staggering feat in a format often dominated by batters. Swinging the new ball with venom and controlling the death overs with steely nerves, she was India's strike weapon—clinical, unrelenting, and decisive.

That tournament didn’t just earn her accolades—it announced her as the successor to the pace legacy left behind by Jhulan Goswami. Renuka was no longer a promising bowler from the hills of Himachal Pradesh; she had become the face of India’s fast-bowling future.

Thakur’s name had become synonymous with India's new-age pace promise, and the year added two vital chapters to her growing legend. In December 2023, she donned the whites for the very first time, making her Test debut against England. For a bowler forged in the rhythm of white-ball cricket, the red-ball challenge was both a test of patience and persistence. Yet, Renuka’s adaptability shone through—her probing lengths and unwavering control showed she belonged in the longest format, where every spell is a story and every wicket hard-earned.

Earlier in the year, she found herself in the middle of a different kind of buzz—the glittering stage of the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL). Picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Renuka entered the WPL as one of India’s marquee fast bowlers. While her debut season yielded just one wicket, it wasn’t numbers alone that defined her impact. Her body language—defiant, focused, tireless—reflected a bowler sharpening her craft under pressure. In the heat of franchise cricket, she didn’t shy away from the spotlight; she embraced the challenge, readying herself for bigger moments to come.

After a quiet WPL debut, Renuka Thakur stormed back into the limelight in 2024, reminding everyone why she was once hailed as India’s next pace sensation. In December, during a high-stakes ODI against the West Indies, she delivered the kind of spell that fast bowlers dream of—raw pace, searing swing, and unerring accuracy. Her figures of 5 for 29 marked her maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs and rattled the West Indian top order, anchoring India’s dominant win. It was a performance that not only earned her accolades but also re-established her as a go-to strike bowler in crunch situations.

While that stunning December display was a recent highlight, her broader journey had already received international recognition. The ICC had named her the Emerging Women's Cricketer of the Year for 2022, validating the early glimpses of brilliance she showed in the Commonwealth Games and bilateral tours. 

Riding the momentum from her 2024 ODI heroics, Renuka Thakur entered the 2025 Women's Premier League (WPL) with fire in her boots and rhythm in her stride. Donning the RCB colors once again, she transformed into a spearhead of their bowling unit. Her returns were telling—10 wickets across the season, showcasing not just her ability to take early scalps, but also her composure at the death.

One of the season’s most talked-about moments came in a tense encounter against Delhi Capitals. With the crowd roaring and stakes high, Renuka delivered a wicket-maiden over that turned the tide. She lured the DC captain into a misjudged shot, and Ellyse Perry, her RCB teammate, completed a breathtaking diving catch. It wasn’t just a dismissal; it was a highlight reel moment that electrified the WPL and underlined Renuka’s growing stature as a match-winner.

Her impact stretched beyond the franchise stage. Though her five-wicket haul against the West Indies had come in late 2024, its echoes reverberated through the early months of 2025, reminding everyone that India’s pace future was not just secure—it was thriving.

With swing as her signature and grit as her foundation, Renuka Thakur continues to evolve into one of the most dependable fast bowlers in the women’s game. If the past is any indication, the best chapters of her cricketing story are still to be written.

(As of May 2025)