BENGALURU: Simran Shaikh is a “bindhast” person. A proper Bambaiya cricketer. A player with whom you can have an evening tea and talk about the game for hours. But don’t let her laid-back attitude fool you. When it comes to her cricket, she is as focused as one can be. Sunetra Paranjpe, current head coach of Mumbai women’s team can attest to that.

“Way back, in her U19 days, we worked together and I saw the special talent in her in terms of six-hitting capacity,” Paranjpe, who is currently with Mumbai’s senior side in Ahmedabad for the Senior Women’s One Day Championship told this daily.

“That time I thought she would make it big, but she needed to develop her game as she progressed. And she has worked hard for this. She had a few bad years under her belt, but she has learned from those mistakes. I hope she has the best season in the WPL,” she added. As three of Paranjpe’s current wards – Shaikh, Prakashika Naik and Jagravi Pawar – are set to join their respective Women’s Premier League franchises, she is one happy coach at the moment.

Born and raised in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums, Shaikh was picked up by the UP Warriorz in the first season of WPL, but a poor run in the inaugural outing saw her getting released by the franchise. With no performance to show in either the franchise competition or the domestic season for Mumbai, Shaikh had to work hard. And that she did.