Rejected for ‘chucking’, Gwalior’s Anushka scripts dream comeback to India squad

Bhopal: Once barred from bowling for a suspect action, Gwalior's 22-year-old all-rounder Anushka Sharma has scripted a stirring comeback, earning a place in the Indian women's team for the upcoming South Africa tour in 2026. In 2024, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) flagged her action as illegal — branded as "chucking" — forcing her out of domestic bowling. The setback could have ended her career—but Anushka chose to rebuild. The right-arm off-break bowler worked tirelessly with coach Arun Singh, correcting her action and regaining confidence. "Thanks to my coach and family who helped me during that time. Arun sir gave me important tips to improve my bowling action," said Anushka. "It was the toughest phase of her life," recalled Arun Singh, chief coach at Shivpuri academy run by the state sports department, while praising her resilience. She was admitted to the academy in 2022. "Chucking issue tested everything—her technique, her mental strength, her passion for the game," added Singh. Her turnaround was remarkable. In the 2024-25 Senior Women's One-Day Trophy, she played a pivotal role in guiding Madhya Pradesh to their first title in 35 years, including an unbeaten 69 in the final. "Anushka was the X-factor in the senior women one-day trophy," gushed her father Brijmohan Sharma. "She bowled like fire and batted like steel," he added. Now, as Anushka joins a star-studded squad led by Harmanpreet Kaur, her journey stands as a powerful story of rejection, resolve and redemption.