Kanika Ahuja is an Indian cricketer. She is an all-rounder and played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League.
Wiki/Biography
Kanika S Ahuja was born on Wednesday, 7 August 2002 (age 20 years; as of 2022) in Patiala, Punjab. Her zodiac sign is Leo. She completed her schooling at Sri Aurobindo International School, Patiala, Punjab. She pursued a Bachelor of Arts (BA) at the Hindu College Amritsar, Dhab Khatikan, Amritsar, Punjab. Kanika was a national-level skater before she became a professional cricketer. She impressed the school cricket coach through her consistent performances and the coach suggested her she should choose cricket over skating. She became a regular part of her school team and was selected for the district women’s team. When she was fifteen, she took a break from cricket following an injury; she was diagnosed with Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear and Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) tear. Following the injury, her family asked her to quit playing cricket and focus on her studies. In an interview, she said that she moved from Patiala, Punjab to Chandigarh, India for her treatment; she let out that she hid the real intention from her family and told them that she was moving to Chandigarh, India to focus on her studies. She added that following her recovery from injury, she became more serious about her dream to be a cricketer. She is fondly called ‘Kannu’ and ‘Tommy’ by her friends and family. When she first started playing cricket, Kanika used to train at the Cricket Hub academy in Patiala, Punjab.
A photograph of Kanika Ahuja from her 20th birthday celebration
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 4″
Weight (approx.): 55 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Body Measurements (approx.):34-28-33
Family
She belongs to a Punjabi Sikh family in Patiala, Punjab.
Parents & Siblings
The names of her parents are not known. Kanika Ahuja’s grandfather, Satpal, took her for her practice sessions at the Dhruve Pandove Stadium in Patiala, Punjab.
Religion
Kanika Ahuja follows Sikhism.
Cricket
Domestic
Kanika Ahuja has represented Punjab women’s team, North Zone women’s team, India U-19, and India Women’s D team at the domestic level. She has captained the under-16 and under-19 categories of the Punjab women’s cricket team. She got noticed in the domestic circle after becoming a starter for the school team; she then made her way to the Patiala district team. After a string of positive performances with the district team, she was included in the Punjab women’s squad and established herself as a key player for the team. She was part of the Punjab women’s cricket team, which participated in the 2020–21 Women’s Senior One-Day Trophy. On 19 March 2021, she achieved a five-wicket haul against the Mumbai women’s team. On 15 November 2021, she registered a five-wicket haul against the Maharashtra women’s team; she bowled seven overs at an economy of 3.28 She was part of the Patiala team that won the Punjab State Women Senior Inter District One Day Tournament 2021/2022. She scored 138 runs and took seven wickets from the tournament. On 25 August 2021, during the final match against Jalandhar, she mankaded Krishma Rana.
Kanika Ahuja with the Inter District Championship Senior Women’s One Day Cup (2021-2022)
On 6 November 2021, she scored 90 runs from 88 balls for the Punjab Women’s team against Rajasthan Women during the 2021 Women’s Senior One Day Trophy. In 2021, she was part of the India Women’s D team and participated in the 2021-2022 Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy. On 4 December 2021, she achieved a four-wicket haul against India Women’s C team; in their next match of the tournament against India Women’s B team, she took the wickets of Humaira Kazi and Meghna Singh. On 7 December 2021, during their match against the India Women’s A team, she scored 17 runs and took two wickets. In the final match against India Women’s A team, she scored 16 runs and bowled six overs at an economy of 4.83; India Women’s A team won by 3 wickets. Kanika Ahuja was part of the North Zone Women’s team which participated in the 2022-2023 Women’s Senior Inter Zonal T20.
Kanika Ahuja batting for the North Zone Women’s team
She was part of the India Women’s D team that won the 2022-2023 Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy. On 20 November 2022, she took one wicket from two overs at an economy of 6.00 against the India Women’s B team.
Kanika Ahuja and Jemimah Rodrigues with the Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy (2022-2023)
On 29 January 2023, she was named the Performer of the Match in the match against the Meghalaya Women’s Cricket Team; she scored 41 runs from 60 balls with a strike rate of 68.33.
Women’s Premier League (WPL)
During the auctions of the inaugural Women’s Premier League in 2023, Kanika Ahuja was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs. 35 lakhs.
On 5 March 2023, she made her debut in their opening match against Delhi Capitals Women; she was dismissed for a duck after Shafali Verma caught her catch on Tara Norris‘ delivery. On 6 March 2023, she scored 22 runs from 13 balls against the Mumbai Indians Women before she was dismissed by Pooja Vastrakar.
The Safari Powerful Striker of the Match award for the match between @mipaltan and @RCBTweets goes to Kanika Ahuja. #TATAWPL | #TataSafari | #ReclaimYourLife | #SafariXTataWPL | #MIvRCB | @TataMotors_Cars pic.twitter.com/unC7H8Abqa
— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 6, 2023
On 8 March 2023, she scored ten runs from seven balls against the Gujarat Giants Women; Sushma Verma stumped her on a delivery of Ashleigh Gardner. On 10 March 2023, she scored eight runs from ten balls against UP Warriorz Women; Anjali Sarvani took her catch on a delivery of Deepti Sharma.
Favourites
- Team: Royal Challengers Bangalore
Facts/Trivia
- Her jersey number is 17 (Royal Challengers Bangalore).
- As a child she was not much interested in cricket; she gradually developed the interest when she started playing gully cricket. In an interview, she revealed that she never attended any practice sessions and used to play matches till she was selected for the state team.
- In an interview, she revealed that her favourite team in the Indian Premier League was Royal Challengers Bangalore. In 2023, Kanika Ahuja was purchased by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL).
- In an interview, she revealed that the Indian Women’s Cricket team captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, influenced her a lot. She added that Harmanpreet Kaur supported and helped her by providing cricketing gear and mental support.
- Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Smriti Mandhana during her press conference following their loss against Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), pointed out the batting performances of Kanika Ahuja and Shreyanka Patil and complimented their fighting spirit.
- In an interview, she revealed that she was influenced and motivated by Shafali Verma and her success with the India women’s cricket team.