Harleen Deol, who plays for Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) in domestic cricket, has been selected in India squad for Women T20 World Cup, to be held in Australia in February this year.
Deol is the second cricketer from the state after Sushma Verma who will represent India in a world cup at the international level.
Born in Chandigarh, Harleen Deol had moved to Dharamshala at the age of 13 and had started playing for HPCA.
Deol is right-hand batswoman and also bowls right-arm leg-spin. Earlier, she had represented the state in India A team.
Expressing happiness over her selection, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) treasurer and HPCA chief Arun Dhumal said Himachal cricketers have hidden talent and tremendous sporting potential, given the right ecosystem and facilities.
“Our players can do very well at the national level as has been proved by our cricketers if they are provided with better facilities and the right ecosystem.
Last month, four women cricketers were selected for the Indian A team against Australia as well,” he said.
He said Virender Sharma, an umpire from Himachal, has been adjudged as the best umpire in the domestic circuit for the last season and was awarded at the awards function in Mumbai on Sunday.
Further, three women cricketers Nikita Chauhan, Renuka Singh, and Tanuja Kanwer had been selected in India A and India B teams for Paytm Women’s Quadrangular Series that has been announced by BCCI.
Dhumal credited the selection for infrastructure created in the last 19 years in Himachal and said it had given a world-class platform to all that had made this success possible.
“We are striving hard to provide international facilities to all our players and districts in the state so that the latent hidden potential of our cricketers is realized at the national level and they become role models of the future generations,” he added.