Step-by-step advice on pathways, clubs, competitions and coaching for getting into girls cricket and women’s cricket in Karnataka.
From Shantha Rangaswamy in 1976 to C Prathyusha in 2021, Karnataka has been a factory line for producing female cricketers for India. Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Veda Krishnamurthy and VR Vanitha are carrying forward the work done by other big names from the state: V Kalpana, former skippers Mamatha Maben and Pramila Bhatt, Nooshin Al Khadeer and wicketkeeper Karuna Jain.
Bangalore has been the main centre for these players, but Rajeshwari, who came up from Bijapur, and Veda, from the small town of Kadur, have shown girls from outside the city also the opportunities available. Today, the state team has members from centres like Shimoga and Mysore playing prominent roles.
Where to start
If you’re less than around 12, start by playing sport in school or with your friends. Any sport, it doesn’t matter! It will be fun, and also help you develop motor skills that you can use if you want to play competitive cricket later.
In your teens, a good way to go forward with cricket is to join a summer camp offered by an academy.
Selection for Karnataka state women’s team
Karnataka has Under-16, Under-19, Under-23 and senior state teams.
Selections for all are by open trials for the different age groups.
Open trials → Probables camp & selection matches → state team
- Keep an eye out for an ad in the paper or on the Karnataka State Cricket Association website announcing the dates for the trials. If you are a part of an academy, your coach will also tell you about this.
- The trials are age-group specific and happen over a couple of days, usually in Bangalore. Go to the venue to complete registration.
- A smaller group of players are shortlisted to be the ‘probables’. The probables have a camp, where they play some selection matches, and the top 15 are selected to be the state team.
Facilities
The best facilities and resources are available in Bangalore. So, many girls decide to shift to the city when they want to pursue the sport seriously. The top academies also have accommodation facilities for students.
Having said that, facilities in the rest of the state – in the ‘mofussil’ zone, as the KSCA calls it – are also impressive. KSCA has academies in Mangalore, Shimoga, Tumkur, Raichur.
However, access to good quality competition might be less in the mofussil.
Contact KSCA on +91 8040154015 or office@ksca.co.in

School cricket for girls in Bangalore
There is no official school tournament organised by KSCA. However, a few schools do have teams and feature in various sports competitions.
The DPS chain of institutions in Bangalore conducts a cricket tournament with teams from all their Bangalore branches taking part.
In some rare cases, girls are allowed to play in boys’ teams. This is how C Pratyusha, who made her India debut in 2021, played cricket in Kumarans school.
College cricket for girls in Karnataka
KSCA has organised an inter-college tournament in the past, but this doesn’t happen regularly anymore. A few colleges do have women’s teams, with the players representing Bangalore University.
These include:
- Jain College
- Mount Carmel College
- Jyothi Nivas College
Other opportunities to play cricket
- A club cricket tournament takes place in Bangalore, with the blessing of KSCA, although it hasn’t been regular over the past few years.
- Clubs, academies or private bodies hold at least 2-3 exhibition or invitational tournaments a year.
- Women’s T20 exhibition matches were held alongside the Karnataka Premier League.
Notable academies for women in Karnataka
- KIOC, Bangalore & Mysore
- Six Cricket, Bangalore
- Just Cricket, Bangalore
- RX Cricket Academy, Bangalore
- Sahyadri Cricket Academy, Shivamogga
Falcons is an old cricket club just for girls. While they don’t have their own facilities, they do organise tournaments for women.
Financial aid and scholarships
Some academies offer discounts and support to girls from underprivileged families.
If you have information on schools, colleges or academies that support girls cricket in Karnataka, contact us and we’ll add it to this page!