G Kamalini's mother Saranya had never felt such happiness. Not even when her daughter was born.
On Sunday, 16-year-old Kamalini first won the Player-of-the-Match award for her unbeaten 44 off 29 balls for India against Pakistan in the Under-19 Asia Cup in Malaysia, and then earned a INR 1.6 crore deal with Mumbai Indians at the WPL 2025 auction in Bengaluru. For Kamalini's family, who watched both events from Chennai, it felt like a dream.
"Don't think we were this happy even when Kamalini was born," Saranya told ESPNcricinfo. "Kamalini's revelling in the moment. She's getting a lot of calls and wishes - her team-mates, coaches have all been calling. She's feeling very happy. She also scored at the Under-19 Asia Cup and got Player of the Match today, she's so happy that everything is going well."
There was a bidding war between MI and Delhi Capitals for the teenager, and MI head coach Charlotte Edwards and team mentor Jhulan Goswami exchanged smiles after they won. Kamalini later revealed to Goswami that her family couldn't control their tears.
Saranya, Kamalini's father Gunalan, and her brother Dominic Kishore had sat glued to the television all day.
"Her dad was so confident she would be picked but I kept my hopes low," Saranya said. "She was part of the trials with several teams, including Mumbai, ahead of the auction. I probably thought she'd go for 50 lakh. Her dad was nervous when the match was on but was relaxed during the auction. So many players before her went unsold so we were a bit worried. But I did not expect her to go for this amount."
MI liked what they had seen and heard of her over the last year and had set aside a significant chunk of their purse to secure the "cheeky" Kamalini at the auction.
"It's the one name that's cropping up in all meetings we've had in the last two or three months," Edwards said at the auction. "Having seen her first hand as well, she looks an exciting, young talent. We need back-up for Yastika [Bhatia] at the top of the order but equally we wanted a left-handed option for our middle order, that's something we recognised last year. She seems the perfect fit. I know she's young. She looks cheeky which I like. We knew there'd be other interest in her. So we knew we needed to keep some purse to hopefully secure her."
As a kid growing up in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, Kamalini was into inline skating. She was so good at it that she had her own showcase at home to display her medals and trophies. But she wanted to play cricket like her brother. She took up the game when she was 11 and it soon became an "obsession".
With her father as her first coach, Kamalini and her brother trained almost every day. A natural right-hander, she was trained to become a left-hand batter by her father, who believed that would give her an edge.
The family decided to move to Chennai for better opportunities for both children. Her father even quit his business. Kamalini and her brother joined the Super Kings Academy in 2022 and started training under coach Louis Mariano.
A hard-hitting opener who keeps wicket, Kamalini also bowls spin. But Mariano was keen that she prioritised wicketkeeping.
"Kamalini has everything you look for in a cricketer," Mariano said. "Be it defence, shots all round the wicket, back foot or front foot. She also has the ability to clear the ground with ease. Even at 16 she can play the ground easily because the technique is so good whatever shots she plays. The technique takes care of her game. She was destined for greatness right at a very young age."
Mariano was all praise for her work ethic. It's hard even for Kamalini's coaches to get her out of the nets. She spends at least five hours at the academy every day.
Kamalini has made giant strides after joining the academy. In 2023, she was the Player of the Tournament in the Freyer T20 Cup hosted by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. She captained Tamil Nadu Women in the BCCI Under-15 tournament and was also picked for a special National Cricket Academy U-15 camp in Alur.
Making the step up to the Under-19 level last year, Kamalini continued her terrific form. She was instrumental in Tamil Nadu winning the Under-19 domestic tournament in October, hitting 311 runs in eight matches. She followed that up by top-scoring with 79 in the Under-19 tri-series final for India B against South Africa A, which earned her a spot in India's Under-19 Asia Cup squad.
It was right before one of those tournaments last year that Kamalini's family was coping with tough situation. Her father had a massive heart attack, kidney failure, and underwent an open-heart surgery. While he spent days in the intensive care unit, Kamalini and her brother were under the care of their extended family as their mother cared for their father.
Kamalini had the Senior Women's One-Day tournament to play during this turbulent time.
"She's so mentally strong. Even if the situation had worsened for her dad, she wouldn't have returned from the tournament," Saranya said. "She has that kind of mentality. She's been like that since she was small. She left to the tournament crying, I'll never forget that. Everyone told her father that he'll live to see the day she wears the India jersey, and I believed in that too."
Kamalini had an excellent run in that tournament, scoring a century and finishing as the second highest run-scorer. Mariano said Kamalini's biggest strength is her resilience and "fearlessness".
"She'd still turn up for training every day even when her father was critically ill," he said. "She even attended a TNCA camp at that time. Her parents made sure the situation didn't stop her cricket. Along with her skills, her fearlessness on and off the field is the biggest strength. She's never scared to speak out also."
Kamalini father recovered but hasn't been able to get back to training with her. Her rapid rise, however, has kept him in good spirits. Her parents' dream is to see her in the senior Indian team for a long time.
"We want to see her wear the jersey consistently," Saranya said, "And play many games for India and have a long career."