Tanuja Kanwar is an Indian cricketer. She is an all-rounder and played for Gujarat Giants in the inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League.
Wiki/Biography
Tanuja P Kanwar was born on Wednesday, 28 January 1998 (age 25 years; as of 2023) in Theog, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. She was interested in sports from an early age and used to play gully cricket with the boys in her locality till 2011. Tanuja was about 15 years old when her father enrolled her at the HCC Academy in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. In an interview, she revealed that her dad was instrumental in shaping her career. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Hindu College Amritsar, Dhab Khatikan, Amritsar, Punjab.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 5″
Weight (approx.): 55 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Body Measurements (approx.): 33-28-33
Family
She belongs to a middle-class family in Theog, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.
Parents & Siblings
Her parents’ names are not known. Her brother’s name is Mohit Thakur.
Tanuja Kanwar with her brother
Cricket
Domestic
Tanuja Kanwar has represented Himachal Pradesh Women, India B Women, Central Zone Women, India U-19, India Red Women, India Women Emerging, Indian Board President’s Women XI, Railways Women, and India A at the domestic level.
Tanuja Kanwar with her India Red teammates
In 2011, she joined the HCC Academy in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh; later in the same year, she was selected for the state U-19 team. In 2012, she was selected for the state senior women’s team following her consistent performances with the U-19 team. In 2014, she took two wickets against the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) U-19 team. Tanuja enjoyed a stellar campaign in the 2016-2017 Senior Women’s One Day League.
Congrats Himachal Senior women team for entering d finals of Senior Women’s One Day League 2016.
Finals: Himachal vs U.P.19th Oct, 2016. pic.twitter.com/iYzeRHUlg3
— HPCA (@himachalcricket) October 17, 2016
Himachal Pradesh Women’s team was promoted from the Plate Group after defeating Uttar Pradesh Women in the final. She was the leading wicket-taker with 17 wickets from four matches including the four-wicket haul against Karnataka Women in the semi-final and a three-wicket haul against Uttar Pradesh Women in the final. In 2017, she was part of the Himachal Pradesh U-23 Women’s squad, which participated in the Under-23 North Zone Women’s Cricket Championship. In the final, she took seven wickets against Jammu & Kashmir, as Himachal won by 266 runs; she was the leading wicket-taker with 15 wickets from four matches.
Tanuja Kanwar (second row – extreme right) with the Himachal Pradesh U-23 team
In November 2017, she was appointed the vice-captain of the Himachal Pradesh Women. In 2017, she was named to the India A T20I squad for the Bangladesh Women’s A tour of India. In March 2018, she was included in the India A Women’s squad for the Australia Women’s tour of India; she took one wicket from two matches.
Tanuja Kawar, who hails from Shimla, has been selected in India A for 2 warm up matches against Aus Women Team which will be played on 6th and 8th of March in Mumbai.
Congratulations to young player! #ProudMoment #HPCA #HimachalWomenCricket pic.twitter.com/xq0MeUhxV3
— HPCA (@himachalcricket) March 3, 2018
In 2018, she was named to the India Women’s Red team for the 2018-2019 Women’s Senior T20 Challenger Trophy. Tanuja Kanwar was part of the India A team that reached the finals of the 2018-2019 Senior Women’s Challenger Trophy. She took five wickets from three matches. In 2019, she was part of Smriti Mandhana-led India B which won the 2019-2020 Women’s Senior T20 Challenger Trophy. On 18 February 2019, she scored 11 runs and took two wickets for the Indian Board President’s Women’s XI against the England Women, during their tour of India. In October 2019, she was included in the India Women’s Emerging team that won the inaugural Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Emerging Teams Asia Cup held in Sri Lanka. On 29 October 2019, India Women’s Emerging team defeated the Sri Lanka Women’s Emerging team in the final by 14 runs; Tanuja Kanwar took four wickets in the final.
She finished the tournament with 7 wickets including the three-wicket haul against the Sri Lanka Women’s Emerging team and was the second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament behind Devika Vaidya.
Some more snapshots 📸📸 from India’s win in the Emerging Teams Asia Cup at Colombo 🇮🇳😎👏👏 #WETAC2019 #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/VJrflNiWp5
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) October 29, 2019
In 2019, she was selected for the India A Women’s tour of Australia. She took four wickets from three ODI matches and was included in the playing eleven for the opening T20 match. In 2020, she was selected for the India Women B team to participate in the T20 Quadrangular Series held in India opposite India Women A, Bangladesh Women, and Thailand Women. She took eight wickets from four matches including a three-wicket haul against the Bangladesh Women’s team in the final; India B lost to Bangladesh Women by 14 runs. In 2021, she was included in the Himachal Pradesh Women’s team and participated in the BCCI Women’s Senior One-Day Trophy. On 21 March 2021, she achieved a six-wicket haul against Meghalaya Women and helped her team to restrict Meghalaya’s total to just 28 runs. Tanuja was part of the Railways Women’s team that clinched the 2021-2022 Women’s Senior One Day Trophy by defeating Karnataka in the final.
Tanuja Kanwar with the 2021–22 Women’s Senior One-Day Trophy
She was also part of the Railways Women’s team that won the 2021-2022 Women’s Senior T20 Trophy.
Tanuja Kanwar with the 2021-2022 Women’s Senior T20 Trophy
On 7 February 2023, she achieved a three-wicket haul and helped Railways Women retain their title against Karnataka in the 2022-2023 Women’s Senior One-Day Trophy final; she was named Player of the Match.
Tanuja Kanwar with the Player of the Match Award and the 2022-2023 Women’s Senior One-Day Trophy
She was part of the Central Zone women’s team, which won the inaugural edition of the Women’s Senior Inter Zonal T20.
Tanuja Kanwar with the Women’s Senior Inter Zonal T20 Cup (2022-2023)
Women’s Premier League (WPL)
In 2023, during the auctions of the inaugural Women’s Premier League, Tanuja Kanwar was purchased by the Gujarat Giants.
#GiantArmy, the all-rounder Tanuja Kanwer joins in too! 😍#WPL #WomensPremierLeague #Adani #GujaratGiants pic.twitter.com/sXcd4E87XS
— Gujarat Giants (@GujaratGiants) February 23, 2023
Her base price was Rs. 10 Lakhs and she became the most expensive uncapped domestic player in the Women’s Premier League when she was signed by the Gujarat Giants for Rs. 50 Lakhs. Royal Challengers Bangalore were also keen to land her and even raised their offer to Rs. 45 Lakhs; however, they withdrew from the bidding for her after Gujarat Giants raised their offer price to Rs. 50 Lakhs. On 4 March 2023, she made her debut in the opening match against Mumbai Indians; she was dismissed on a duck after Nat Sciver-Brunt caught her catch. Tanuja Kanwar registered the first-ever wicket in the Women’s Premier League when she dismissed Yastika Bhatia.
ICYMI!
Tanuja Kanwar scalps the first wicket in the history of #TATAWPL 👏👏#MI move to 22-1 after 4 overs. #GGvMI pic.twitter.com/uNz3qjWy85
— Women’s Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 4, 2023
On 11 March 2023, she scored 13 runs from 19 balls before she was caught out by Jemimah Rodrigues. She took a wicket from four overs at an economy of 8.00 and was dismissed on a duck during their 55 runs defeat against Mumbai Indians Women.
Favourites
- Male Cricketer (Batter): Rohit Sharma
- Male Cricketer (All-rounder): Yuvraj Singh
Facts/Trivia
- Her name is also spelt as Tanuja Kanwer.
- In an interview, she talked about her interest in films and said that she preferred watching South Indian films over Bollywood films.
- Tanuja Kanwar started playing cricket as a medium-pacer and later changed her style to spin bowling following the advice of her coach, Pawan, at the HCC Academy in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.
- In an interview, she pointed out that the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) played a huge role in building her career and added that the organisation was highly supportive of its players.
A young Tanuja Kanwar with the Himachal Pradesh U-19 team
- Her jersey number in the Women’s Premier League was 31 (Gujarat Giants).
- She played Badminton and Volleyball at the district levels before she became a professional cricketer.
- In an interview, she revealed that when she started playing for the India A team, she was very nervous and Sushma Verma was among the senior players who supported and guided her in dealing with the pressure of being a new face.
Tanuja Kanwar with Sushma Verma