Renuka Singh cements bonafide star status with ICC Emerging Women's Cricketer of the Year Award

The International Cricket Council on Wednesday revealed Renuka Singh Thakur to be the winner of the ICC Emerging Women's Cricketer of the Year Award after the pacer enjoyed a groundbreaking debut season on the international circuit. The 2g-year-old ended the year with 40 wickets to her name across ODIs and T20Is, scalping them at an average of 19.875 while maintaining an impressive economy rate of 5.72.

Even though Renuka made her Women in Blue debut last year, she only managed two T20I appearances before truly rising to fame in 2022. The right-arm quick first came into the spotlight in her debut ODI series against New Zealand in February, earning three wickets in two encounters, and locked in her place in the Indian XI with seven wickets in a three-match series against Sri Lanka. However, she cemented her reputation as a ferocious talent with 11 wickets in five games at the Commonwealth Games 2022, including four in the opener against a world-renowned Australian side.

Having propelled India to the silver medal in Birmingham, Renuka presented herself as a potential long-term replacement for the outgoing legend Jhulan Goswami in her last international series by scalping eight wickets in two ODIs against England. Later in the year, six wickets at the Asia Cup helped Renuka bag her first multi-nation tournament victory with India on the international stage. All in all, Thakur had 18 ODI wickets at an average of 14.88 and an economy of 4.62 while averaging 23.95 in T20Is to rack up 22 victims in T20Is at an economy rate of 6.50.