At 18, Triveni Vasistha still speaks with the honesty of someone who hasn’t yet learned to filter her excitement. There is nervousness, awe, gratitude and above all, belief. Belief that she belongs. Belief that she can do it. And belief that the journey has only just begun.
When her name came up at the WPL 2026 auction, Triveni wasn’t in a fancy hotel room or surrounded by friends. She was watching it live on a video call with her parents, in between commitments with the Haryana U23 team.
“I was very nervous and excited at that time,” she says. “The tournament was going on for the U23 team, and I was on a video call with my parents. They kept telling me, ‘Okay, calm down. Everything will happen alright.’”
Then the hammer came down. Mumbai Indians. ₹20 lakh. WPL contract secured.
“I was very happy and excited,” she says, her voice still lighting up at the memory. “The first thought was that I’m going to share the dressing room, the ground, meetings with great players and coaches. That feeling was very big for me.”
Finding cricket, finding herself
Cricket didn’t arrive early in Triveni’s life but once it did, it stayed.
“I started playing in 2019,” she says. “Then I joined an academy called SRNCC, Sriram Narayan Cricket Club, at the end of 2020. The environment was very good. The coaches were very understanding and nice. There are a lot of coaches who helped me a lot. In the academy there is Ashwini Sarma sir who guided me and supported me a lot. Anil sir who guided me.”
A left-handed batter and a left-arm spinner from the beginning, Triveni didn’t need convincing about her bowling style.
“I was a left-arm spinner from the beginning,” she says simply.
Her journey, however, hasn’t been an easy one. Daily practice meant a three-hour round trip.
“For daily practice, I had to travel one hour thirty minutes one side,” she says. “My father used to take me and my brother every day. He sacrificed his business for that.”
It’s a line she says without drama but it says everything.
The mental leap
The jump from state cricket to the Women’s Premier League isn’t just about skill. Triveni knows that.
“I want to be consistent in every skill,” she says. “I want to improve mentally and physically.”
Her pre-bowling routine reflects that mindset.
“Before going to bowl, I meditate,” she explains. “I tell myself that all the balls will be executed well. I am going to take a wicket today. That’s it.”
It’s quiet confidence, not loud, not performative.
Behind it are mentors who kept repeating one message.
“He tells me that I can do it,” she says of one of her academy coaches. “I have confidence in myself.”
A moment that changed everything
Every young cricketer remembers the first time belief from a giant of the game feels real. For Triveni, that moment came in a senior women’s one-day match, a quarter-final against Bengal.
“I saw Jhulan ma’am for the very first time,” she recalls.
She didn’t just see her. She performed in front of her.
“I took two crucial wickets of set batters, one had scored a century, another was in the 60s. In batting also, I scored 46 runs with good intent.”
After the match, Jhulan Goswami walked up to her.
“She said, ‘Well done,’” Triveni says. “It felt like I had won a trophy or something. It was a very precious moment for me.”
That moment now comes full circle. Jhulan Goswami is part of the Mumbai Indians setup as mentor and bowling coach, and Triveni is one of MI’s newest uncapped recruits.
The MI way
Mumbai Indians have built a reputation, across leagues, for identifying raw talent early and backing it without hesitation. Triveni fits that pattern perfectly.
“What excites me is the opportunity,” she says. “To share everything and play along with great players.”
She speaks of the franchise with quiet respect, aware of its culture and history.
Under the leadership of Nita Ambani, MI have consistently invested in grassroots talent and long-term development, a philosophy that has quietly but steadily strengthened Indian cricket.
For Triveni, it means something simpler.
“It’s a great opportunity,” she repeats. “To learn.”
Heroes and grounding
Asked about her favourite players, she doesn’t hesitate.
“In MI, it is Harry di,” she says, referring to Harmanpreet Kaur. “I admire her because she handles pressure very well. She performs everything perfectly.”
Beyond MI colours, her admiration is universal.
“I generally like Virat Kohli,” she adds.
Yet for all the star names around her, Triveni’s focus remains inward.
“I am working on my mentality more,” she says about her WPL preparation. “First, I want to meet my friends. I want to have a good relationship with the new players.”
Numbers that tell a story and a future
At the senior level, the numbers are modest but promising: 12 wickets at an economy rate of 5.81, a skill set still finding rhythm against higher competition. Her recent Senior Women’s T20 Trophy saw limited opportunities, but development is rarely linear and MI know that better than most.
At 18, Triveni Vasistha isn’t being asked to be a finished product. She’s being asked to be herself, curious, disciplined, receptive.
And perhaps that’s what makes her story compelling.
Because when she talks about belief, it doesn’t sound rehearsed.
“I can do it,” she says, echoing the voices that brought her here.
Now, with Mumbai Indians colours on her back, the cricketing world gets to see how far that belief can carry her.
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