Sneh Rana, the 31-year-old spin bowling all-rounder, has made a long-awaited return to the India Women’s team, having been included in the 15-member squad for the upcoming ODI tri-series in Sri Lanka. Rana’s last ODI appearance for India was in December 2023, and her most recent international match was a Test against South Africa in Chennai in June 2024. Despite her stellar performances across all formats in domestic cricket and franchise tournaments like the Women’s Premier League (WPL), she had not been recalled to the national team until now.
Before the announcement, Rana had a candid conversation with RevSportz for the first episode of the ‘Stumps, Stories, and Spills’ podcast, where she expressed her unwavering desire to represent her country once again. “I want to play for India, for my country, I want to wear that jersey because when you are playing for so many years, putting hard work also, you want to wear that jersey, play for your country,” she said. “If the opportunity comes, I will be blessed, and whichever role, I will be ready for it. Whatever role the coach will assign to me, I will try my level best to deliver.”
Reflecting on how she coped with the mental challenges of not being selected in recent times, Rana spoke about the resilience needed in a professional athlete’s career. “As a sportsperson, every player needs to be prepared to handle these kinds of situations because selection is not in our hands, not in our control,” she explained. “So, I do not focus on the selection, only focus is on the performances. I perform for myself, for my game because I love this game and hence, always want to give my full efforts.”
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She also revealed how rejection became a motivational force for her. “This also works as a motivation for me,” she said. “Whenever I get rejected somewhere, I think that maybe I need to learn something new, maybe some variations or improvisations in my bowling. It’s a challenge within me and it works as a motivation for me.”
Rana’s recent domestic performances have been exceptional, earning her this much-anticipated return to the national squad. In WPL 2025, she represented Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), stepping in as a replacement for Shreyanka Patil, and contributed significantly with both bat and ball. She claimed six wickets in five matches and provided crucial runs in the lower order. Despite RCB failing to defend their title, Rana’s performances stood out. She also led Team D to victory in the Senior Women’s Multi-Day Challenger Trophy, showcasing her leadership skills and all-round abilities.
Speaking about her experience with RCB and the passionate fanbase during WPL 2025, Rana said, “When I got a call from the management of RCB, it came out of the blue. I was really surprised and very happy. The crowd was so loud, cheering for us. Even when we needed more runs with one ball left, they were chanting ‘RCB, RCB’. It was heartbreaking that we couldn’t win a match for them on the home ground, but we’ll definitely try to entertain the fans next season.”
Looking ahead to the ODI tri-series, which serves as a platform to prepare for the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup, Rana expressed her dream with clarity and determination. “There is no doubt that the World Cup is in my mind,” she said. “For every cricketer, the ultimate dream is to represent your country in a World Cup. It is the biggest platform, and not only the upcoming one, my wish is to play two-three upcoming World Cups for India. Hard work is going on, and now let’s see whether I get an opportunity or not!”