Mumbai, Feb. 14 -- For Vrinda Dinesh, there have been two occasions when her life took dramatic turns. The first was in 2014. Growing up in Bengaluru, she would only play gully cricket with boys but as a 13-year-old looking for a summer sport, she took up proper coaching. And merely six months later, she was selected for Karnataka U-19 as the youngest member of the squad.

The second life-altering event happened last December. At 22, she became the third-most expensive player in the Women's Premier League 2024 auction after UP Warriorz picked her for Rs.1.3 crore. While her rapid rise initially came as a pleasant surprise, the massive bid she got at the WPL auction left her numb.

"When the auction was taking place, I was in Raipur with t...