New Delhi, Apr 13: Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya has gifted his bat to pace-bowling woman all-rounder Kashvee Gautam ahead of her potential India debut. Pandya met Kashvee during the Women's Premier League (WPL) match against Mumbai Indians and promised to send a bat for her after he came to know that the Gujarat Giants player idolizes him. She had even written HP33 on her bat.

Kashvee made her WPL debut in the 2025 season with Gujarat Giants and played nine matches. She claimed 11 wickets and also scored 43 runs. The 21-year-old was the leading wicket-taker for her franchise in the tournament. Her performance bagged her maiden India call-up for the tri-nation One-day International (ODI) series against Sri Lanka and South Africa starting at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on April 27. India will take on Sri Lanka women in the opening match on April 27.

Kashvee's second meeting with Pandya happened at the Arun Jaitely Stadium here ahead of the Mumbai Indians' Sunday match against the Delhi Capitals. The MI captain congratulated Kashvee for her maiden call-up and wished her luck for the future.

For Pandya, the ongoing IPL season has been in turmoil so far with MI managing only one win in four matches. The side is currently placed at the penultimate spot in the points table with two points. Mumbai Indians suffered a 12-run loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Wankhede Stadium earlier this week. They will look to turn around their fortunes in the clash against Delhi Capitals on Sunday evening.

On the other hand, the Axar Patel-led Delhi Capitals have been on a roll with four successive wins in as many games. The only unbeaten team in the league so far, they are placed at the top of the table with eight points, ahead of Gujarat Titans, thanks to a dominating 1.278 net run rate.

In their last match, KL Rahul's unbeaten 93 powered Delhi Capitals to an emphatic six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.

(IANS)

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