LUCKNOW, Oct. 8 -- Young leg spinner Chandani Sharma drives the motor bike of her elder brother as she finds it more comfortable and raises her confidence too. The left and right turn during the driving from her home to stadium on a routine basis have helped her in bowling too, as she experiments with her googlies and the wrong ones in the match. This daily exercise sounds a bit fantastical but it's a reality that driving helps her in bowling and 19 wickets in the last season's Women's Under-19 Trophy, where Uttar Pradesh finished runners-up in Chandigarh, is a testament of her mastery in the art of leg spin bowling. This isn't all, as she finished among the top five bowlers across the country and her magical bowling also helped Uttar Pradesh win the Under-19 One Day Trophy at Nagpur in 2024-25. The performance also helped her make it to the Team C for the Under-19 T20 Challenger Trophy. "I used to do this left-and-right driving even while riding a cycle from my home to Northern Railways Stadium almost 18 kilometres every day - both sides, and now when I drive the motorbike of my elder brother, I feel the same excitement and fun," said Lucknow's Chandani, 18, who took five wickets for India A in the three-match series against South Africa A, in Pune, last year. Chandani, who is fast emerging India's brightest spin-bowling prospects, has now set her sights on the Women's Premier League, where she wants to rub shoulders with the top guns of India as well as world. "I know how important the WPL is for me as it will help me to make it to the Indian side. It will also allow me to test my skills against some of the top batters of the world," said Chandani, who now trains at the Sage Cricket Academy here. Inspired by one of the top leggies of India, Yuzvendra Chahal, pint sized Chandani had to go almost on a hunger strike to play cricket at the start of her career as she wasn't ready to take up studies and almost compelled her family members to get her admitted at the NR Cricket Academy. "Chahal's bowling in the 2011 World Cup was the biggest inspiration for me and on that day I decided to become a leg spinner like him. My family wanted me to pursue studies, but I was focused on cricket and even for getting an admission at the NR Academy. I stayed hungry for almost two days," said Chandani, adding, "If I ever get a chance to meet Chahal Bhaiya ever, I will ask him to teach me more about leg spin bowling." Chandani, who has already trained at the BCCI's Zonal Cricket Academy, National Cricket Academy and even the High Performance Camp at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence at Bengaluru, also sounded excited about the upcoming domestic season. "I am working hard on my fitness and quite excited about the upcoming season as I have done my homework well and hope to do better this time," she added. One of early coaches of Chandani, and former UP cricketer Priyanka Shalley Mishra admires the leg spinner's qualities as a fighter on the ground. "Chandani combines flight, drift, and sharp turn to outfox batters. Her accuracy and temperament under pressure have stood out, especially in challenging domestic conditions. "She has the ability not to get flustered, but she reads batters' intent and responds with instinctive precision," said Mishra, who taught the finer points of the game to Chandani at the NR Stadium. "She works tirelessly to refine her control and spin and even from day one in her career in domestic cricket, Chandani has been a consistent performer, often delivering crucial overs in the middle phase. Her wicket-taking consistency in the Women's Senior One-Day and T20 Championships was quite admirable," she added....