It's third-time lucky for Shreyanka Patil.
Two weeks ago, not long after passing a fitness test after suffering a finger injury, Patil twisted her ankle during a practice match in Bengaluru. For two days, her dream of playing in her first T20 World Cup appeared slim.
While the swelling went down gradually, no decision was going to be made without looking at the scan results. Even after the results arrived and indicated no major damage, Patil was informed that there would be a "wait and watch" period before a call was taken.
On Tuesday (September 24), Patil was part of the Indian contingent that flew out to the UAE for the tournament, which India are looking to win for the first time.
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Patil has had a dream run in the last 12 months. Soon after becoming the first Indian to feature in the Women's Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) late last year, she made her white-ball debut for India in December. In March, she was front and centre of a victorious Women's Premier League (WPL) campaign with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
She is just 12 T20Is old, but her reputation since the WPL ended has only grown. Her ability to bowl across different phases, particularly at the death, is a standout feature.
"I was just focusing on my process," Patil said earlier this month at a QUA brand shoot in Delhi. "I was not really thinking of what's going to happen next. I thought I'll just give my best whichever team I play for."
Patil, 22, broke through in WPL 2023, where RCB finished last, after two good seasons with Karnataka. This season, too, she was among the top spinners for RCB, along with Asha Sobhana, Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham, taking 13 wickets that included figures of 4 for 12 in the final.
For Patil, one of the major takeaways from the WPL 2024 experience was the crowd that turned up in Bengaluru, which hosted the first leg of the season, where deafening cheers greeted captain Smriti Mandhana and her team.
"This year, when we faced that crowd in Bangalore, it was just massive," Patil said. "When we get so much from the audience, like people watching us, we want to do more, we wanted to give our best. I mean we keep doing that, but when you see people turning out and saying 'wow, they play so well', that's again a plus point for all of us.
"So playing with the likes of Smriti and Pez [Ellyse Perry], there are a lot of things to learn also and not just on the field but off the field. You get to learn a lot of stuff. It was amazing. That platform has really set the standards for the domestic players and for us.
"Personally, for me, everyone would say, 'she's got the Purple Cap', but for me it was like a rollercoaster ride because in the first half in Bangalore I couldn't perform at my best. I was really disappointed because I like my Bangalore. So I went back and Malo [Malolan Rangarajan, RCB's assistant coach] helped me with my bowling and then Smriti literally backed me up no matter what. So I'm very grateful to the whole management who supported me at that time and then the second half really turned out to be a good one for me."
Only two seasons old, the WPL has not only helped budding players financially but also thrown up fresh options for the Indian team management. Patil was among them, along with players like Saika Ishaque and Tanuja Kanwar; cricketing skills aside, these players also needed to pick up how to deal with the glitz and glamour of the WPL, and of being India players.
"So after the WPL, when I came back home, there were thousands of people in front of my house asking me for selfies," Patil recalled. "They said, 'you really did well, you were just amazing, we love your bowling, we love your smile,' all kinds of comments. And I couldn't stop smiling. So it was just so amazing the crowd there and I really enjoyed."
Patil also finished the WCPL as runners-up with Guyana Amazon Warriors last year. Her quick journey to the top, she said, could be down to her competitive attitude and ability to not get bogged down by pressure on the big stage.
"I think it comes very naturally to me since I was a kid," she said. "I don't like to lose. I get up and say, 'I'm going to try my heart out, I'm going to give it everything, no matter what'. I would love to have that fighting spirit with me always.
"For me, pressure is a good thing. So when I say 'pressure', it's not like I think negative or something. I feel cool under pressure because that's what I practiced during my practice sessions as well. I put myself into those pressure situation like last two balls left, four runs to win. How am I going to bowl? So repeating those kinds of practice sessions helped me settle those nerves."
Patil will be among four spin-bowling options for India, along with Radha Yadav, Deepti Sharma and Asha, when their T20 World Cup campaign starts on October 4 against New Zealand in Dubai. Then they face Pakistan on October 6, also in Dubai. The other two teams in India's group are Australia and Sri Lanka.
Patil hasn't played a competitive game since the Asia Cup opener, but is now relieved to have overcome the injury scares as she gets set to give her dreams of winning a World Cup a leg up.