Amanjot Kaur

A good seam-bowling allrounder is a rare commodity in Indian cricket, so Amanjot Kaur was always destined for the big time, especially with her cool temperament aiding her skills.

At 25 she became a World Cup winner, famously taking the match-turning catch - even if it was a fumbling one - to dismiss Laura Wolvaardt in the ODI World Cup final in Navi Mumbai. Having been out for two months due to a back niggle, Amanjot scored 146 runs in the World Cup, mostly from the lower middle order, including her maiden half-century in the format, and took six wickets.

The World Cup was her second trophy of the year, to go with her maiden WPL one, with Mumbai Indians, who had picked her up in the inaugural WPL auction for INR 50 lakh (US$ 61,000 approx). A stress fracture to her back had troubled her before the start of the 2025 WPL as well, but she still contributed 128 runs at a strike rate of 133.3 and took five wickets in MI's second title.

She made her India debut in 2023 as a replacement to the injured seam-bowling allrounder Pooja Vastrakar. In her first T20I, against South Africa in East London, Amanjot rescued the side from a collapse and bagged a Player-of-the-Match award, and, later that year, picked up a four-for on ODI debut. In the closely fought T20I series in England ahead of the 2025 World Cup, Amanjot made an important half-century - 63 not out off 40 balls - to give India the series lead in Bristol. They eventually won 3-2.

She said the turning point in her domestic career came when she moved from Punjab to Chandigarh in 2019-20 "as I gained knowledge and maturity as a batter and got the limelight". She contributed in every aspect of the game, even captaining the side, but then chose to return to Punjab in 2022-23 "to play more competitive cricket, play under seniors" and understand how the game was played at the higher level. She was Punjab's top scorer in the Inter-State T20 competition and was rewarded with an India call-up.

Growing up, Amanjot played hockey, football and handball before going on to focus on cricket. She was primarily a bowler before her academy coach noticed her bat swing when she was giving catching practice to the other kids. Noticing her dedication, her father, a carpenter, gave up his job as a woodwork contractor so he could be available to take his daughter to and from training.