Nandani Sharma felt her heart racing, hands trembling, and eyes welling up.
She had just received her India cap on T20I debut from captain Harmanpreet Kaur, and when asked to say a few words, her emotions took over. Coming from a humble background after years of hard work, setbacks and patience, the 24-year-old fast bowler had finally achieved her dream.
Her debut, against England in Chelmsford, got off to a shaky start as she conceded 15 in her second over. But she came back strongly to finish with 3 for 34 from four overs, helping India secure a 38-run win.
It is often said that sport mirrors life, and in Nandani's case, it certainly did. She has shown remarkable ability to bounce back from difficulties on and off the field.
Nandani first announced herself at WPL 2026. In just her second match for Delhi Capitals, against Gujarat Giants, Sophie Devine smashed 16 runs in her first over. Nandani didn't just return to dismiss Devine but also went on to take a hat-trick and a five-for.
In the absence of Annabel Sutherland, Nandani became DC's go-to bowler in the death overs, where her back-of-the-hand slower ball outfoxed many batters. Among those who bowled at least five overs in that phase, her economy rate of 7.69 was the second best. In all, she took 17 wickets - the joint highest in the tournament. She lost the Purple Cap to Devine by a difference of 0.03 in their economy rates.
Apart from those numbers, and her salute celebration, what stood out was her ability to execute under pressure - a trait that could serve India well at the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup.
When eight-year-old Nandani first picked up a cricket ball almost 16 years ago, it was because her older brother, Akash, a budding legspinner, used to train under coach Rajesh Patha at the LIC Club in Chandigarh, and she too enrolled there.
"There I saw Priyanka Guleria di [who currently plays for Chandigarh] and a couple of other girls running in and bowling," Nandani says. "I decided I wanted to do the same. Only later I learnt it was called fast bowling."
Early on, the coach didn't pay much attention to her, thinking she was too young and might get hurt. That upset Nandani. "Since no one was letting me bowl, I stopped going there," she says. "But after six months, I started going again."
This time Patha could not ignore her. "I could see her passion," he says. "In addition to that, she was very athletic and very dedicated. She wanted to stand out from the rest, so she would keep asking what more she could do."
After some time, Patha taught her to bowl yorkers and bouncers, and she picked them up quickly. Since Chandigarh did not have a team in domestic cricket then, Nandani started her career with Punjab. One match that still stands out for her is an Under-19 one-dayer from 2017-18.
"We were playing [against Delhi] in Una and I took 4 for 16," she says. "In that match, I bowled a yorker to a batter, who fell trying to play it and was bowled."
After Chandigarh got affiliation in 2019-20, she switched to her home team. But a back injury in 2021 sidelined her for six months. Around this time, she also changed her coach and started training under Sukhwinder Bawa, father of U-19 Men's World Cup winner Raj Bawa.
It was under Bawa that she developed her back-of-the-hand slower ball. "I used to play with boys, who would hit against my pace very easily," Nandani, whose top speed is around 105 kph, says. "That is when I realised I needed to add some variations to my bowling."
Later, with her brother's help, she has learnt to bowl the inswinger to go with her natural outswinger.
Bawa's next goal is to develop Nandani's batting skills. "As a bowler, she always had potential and bowled aggressively," he says. "But she could also bat well. Now that she has learnt the tricks of the trade in bowling, my focus is on her batting."
Despite Nandani's talent, success did not come easily. She went to the WPL trials every season but remained unsold at auctions. Her family always supported her, never letting financial constraints come in the way, but it was hard to stay positive.
"I was very disappointed," she says. "At one point I lost all hope - I even stopped thinking about it. I was like I would play [domestic cricket] for a few more years and that's it."
But once she realised results were beyond her control, she started focusing on giving her best every day. Her persistence paid off in the 2024-25 domestic season, where she took 11 wickets in six games in the one-day trophy. And even though her T20 numbers were below average, Royal Challengers Bengaluru signed her as a net bowler for WPL 2025.
The turning point came when DC picked her ahead of the 2026 season. There, she got to train alongside the likes of Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma and Marizanne Kapp.
"Jemi helped me a lot in the nets, while bowling to Shafali was a different challenge altogether," Nandani says. "In one of the practice games, she hit me for 28 runs in an over. Marizanne Kapp would guide me on what length to bowl on different pitches."
She absorbed every lesson and delivered a memorable season. In gratitude to the DC management, she brought out her now-signature salute celebration.
"It was not planned," she says. "But since DC gave me this opportunity to showcase my talent, I wanted to thank them and this was my way of doing it."
The breakout performance earned her a place in the India A squad for the Rising Stars Asia Cup. In the first game, though, she split the webbing on her bowling hand while attempting a catch and was ruled out of the tournament. However, she had done enough in the WPL to be included in India's squads for the England T20Is, the T20 World Cup and the historic Test at Lord's.
Nandani did not play India's opening match at the World Cup but in their next game, against Netherlands, she returned figures of 2 for 22 from three overs, showing she was ready if the team needed her. As the tournament progresses and the pitches wear out, her back-of-the-hand slower one could prove to be a point of difference.