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Deepti kept attending auditions for the next few years, but was overlooked for state selections citing her age (was below 15 then). Kala, however, ensured she got ample experience by taking her to nets at the Railway Camps in Delhi and Allahabad. Slowly and steadily, the progress of Deepti’s all-round skills caught the attention of Rita Dey, former Indian batter and selector, who noticed the ‘boundless enthusiasm’ which later helped her mentor the teenage girl.

Off-spin wasn’t Deepti’s natural skill. She had to switch to slow bowling after having tried medium-pace for most of her early teen days. The switch to spin wasn’t natural either. It was only after several recommendations from selectors and local coaches that Deepti mastered the art of spin owing to her height and the natural release of the ball.

It was only a matter of time before Deepti debuted for India as she kept rolling impressive performances in the state games and, for the A side of course. The international debut eventually arrived (28 November 2014) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru against South Africa in the series decider. Although India ended up on the losing side, Deepti recorded the second best bowling figures for India having made a couple of crucial breakthroughs while at it.

Deepti’s place in the national squad was never in doubt since and she had gathered a bundle of special records even before reaching 20. A canny off-break bowler, gritty batter, and an agile fielder would be Deepti’s primary skills in her CV, but if you had discounted her situation-assessing skills then beware, she has all the potential in the world to become one of the best in the business and perhaps, someday, become the skipper of the Indian side.