In the third match of the 2023 Women's Premier League, UP Warriorz (UPW) batter Kiran Navgire struck an outstanding half-century against Gujarat Giants and caught the attention of millions of people. The right-handed batter scored 53 runs in 43 balls with the help of five fours and two sixes. Kiran's knock kept UPW in the game before Grace Harris and Sophie Ecclestone stitched a match-winning partnership to steal a victory from the jaws of defeat.
When Kiran was batting, one more thing caught everyone's attention. The UPW batter didn't have any sponsor on her bat. Instead, initials and jersey number of former India captain MS Dhoni was engraved on Kiran's bat. The picture of Kiran's bat with Dhoni's initials written on it has gone viral on social media.
Who is Kiran Navgire?
Kiran comes from a very modest family in Solapur, Maharashtra. Her father is a farmer and mother is a homemaker. Kiran considers MS Dhoni as her idol. Kiran had once said that since Dhoni won the World Cup in 2011, she tries emulate the former India captain's batting style and dreams of hitting sixes like him.
Kiran was bought by UP Warriorz for her base price of Rs 30 lakh. She has played six T20I matches for India. However, the true colors of her batting are yet to be seen on the international arena. But in domestic cricket, she has played explosive innings on many occasions. She is the only Indian batter to score 150+ runs in a T20 innings.
Kiran created history during the 2021-22 Women's Senior T20 Trophy while playing as a guest player for Nagaland. The right-handed batter played an outrageous knock of 162 runs in just 76 balls against Arunachal Pradesh. She smashed 16 fours and 10 sixes during her mercurial knock.
ALSO READ:
WPL 2023: Grace Harris negates Gujarat replacement's fifer to lead UP Warriorz to complete emphatic comeback victory over Giants
WPL 2023: Born in USA and brought up in Europe, Tara Norris lights Brabourne with tournament's first fifer in Delhi's win
