The first sign of a wider recognition came when she entered the auction pool during the first WPL auction early last year.
“Sajana was so nervous that day and she did not even watch it (auction) on the TV. But she was a bit upset when she failed to attract a bid last year,” says Sajeevan.
But a quick pep-talk from K Rajagopal, her current coach, kept Sajana, who once made a cameo appearance in Tamil move Kanaa, motivated.
“I told her not to get disheartened after that auction. If you keep performing then the chance will certainly come your way again. She is a strong girl, and it was just the case of keeping her focus on the game. She did that when there was hardly any cricket during the flood (2018) and Covid days. Her desire to achieve her goal is her strength,” he says.
Sajana’s perseverance was rewarded late last year when Mumbai Indians picked the 29-year-old up from the auction room for Rs 15 lakh, a jump of Rs 5 lakh from her base price.
“She was so happy. She called all her friends and coaches to thank them. Sajana told us that she never expected to get a contract from Mumbai, the biggest team in the league,” says Sajeevan.
The right-hander stamped her mark in her WPL debut itself, smoking off-spinner Alice Capsey for that match-winning six over long-on. It prompted her teammate Yastika Bhatia, who herself made a well-timed fifty, to term Sajana as the ‘Kieron Pollard’ of MI women’s outfit.
“If you have watched Harry di (DC captain Harmanpreet Kaur) speak in interviews before, she mentioned that Sajana is a player to watch out for in this WPL. MI have faith in her and she is like Kieron Pollard of the women’s team. She has got that role, and she did really well, credit goes to her,” Yastika said in the post-match press conference.
