This is no ordinary story. Sonam Yadav is no ordinary kid. At 12, she was playing for the UP under-19s. At 13, she was a part of the senior UP side. At 15, she has an under-19 World Cup medal around her neck and is the youngest player with a WPL deal in her kitty.

And this isn’t even the most heart-warming part of her story!

She’s the youngest among five sisters and a brother growing up in a 10ft x 10ft room. Her father was a labourer. Her brother, Aman Yadav, worked in double shifts at a glass company to facilitate the education of the sisters. It was Aman who spotted the cricketing talent in her and got her enrolled in the local cricket academy. She was 11.

It was here that her coach, Ravi Yadav, turned her from a right-handed batter to a left-arm pacer, and then to a left-arm spinner. And before she knew, she was already on bigger radars.  

“I really don’t know how my brother managed all this. I might never be able to repay him,” Sonam says in an exclusive chat with mumbaiindians.com.

But still, despite the very visible hardships, all you can sense in the family is gratefulness. They refuse to play the sympathy card. It’s almost as if they always knew that Sonam was destined for greater things. Even winning the under-19 World Cup, they told her, was “a baby step”.

So here she is, at the Mumbai Indians, after an anxious few hours of watching the WPL Auction on television.

“When the bidding was going on, I was at home only. I didn’t get sold in the first round, and so when my name came back again, I was just hoping that I get picked. And then was very happy when Mumbai picked me. They are a very big team. Everyone at home was also very happy. We all got what we wanted,” she said, grinning.

“Mumbai Indians have had great players. Watching Rohit Sharma bat is always fun. When MI play, you always feel like you are watching some big match. I always watch the IPL with my family.”

It’s a prestigious ensemble that she’s set to be a part of at MI. There’s arguably the greatest batter and bowler in Charlotte Edwards and Jhulan Goswami respectively, India’s captain supreme in Harmanpreet Kaur, the star all-rounder in Nat Sciver-Brunt.

Sonam cannot wait to join the camp and pick their brains. “I’ve never met them. I saw Pooja Vastrakar didi once, but didn’t get to speak to her.”

“I would ask them about their experience, and ask them about what I can improve in my game. I also want to ask Harman didi how to handle pressure as a bowler when they get hit.”

Back in 2018-19, UP were in the final of the inter-state under-19 championship against Andhra. The match started off as a high-scoring thriller, but towards the end, was just slipping out of UP’s hands. Enter Sonam Yadav. 

“We needed 3 wickets and had only 19-20 runs to defend. It was a very tough game. I picked up the last three wickets and we won the game.”

It is a performance Sonam holds very close to her heart. She still calls it her best performance till date. It was her first season. She was only 12.

Again, Sonam Yadav is no ordinary person.