Nepal’s U19 captain Puja Mahato has shown her gratitude for Jasprit Bumrah and mentioned that she wants to be the lady version of the Indian ace pacer.
Following her match-winning performance against Malaysia in the ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025, Mahato revealed her admiration towards Bumrah.
She put her bowling skills on display in her team’s final game of the tournament as she picked 4/9 in 3.5 overs to bundle out Malaysia for 45 in 16.5 overs.
She scored 23* (32) with the bat to guide her team home in 11 overs, rescuing them from a precarious position of 22/3 in six overs.
“As a captain, I think you should have to lead from the front. Just the way I am, I want to play every time for my country and contribute something. When I was bowling, I wanted to take wickets very fast. When I was batting, I thought I had to stand up for my team.
“My bowling idol is Bumrah, I want to be Lady Bumrah, that is why I continue like this. As captain, I have always thought I have to stay and contribute for my country,” said Puja Mahato.
Mahato called winning their last match her favourite memory of the tournament and vowed to put up an even better performance in 2027 edition on home soil.
“It was our last match, we have won, this is a special moment for us because in a few matches we did our best but results were not in our favour.”
“I want to enjoy this moment. This time the players got good experience. In 2027 (at home), they will do their best. Our favourite memory is this win,” Puja Mahato added.
Mahato has played 20 T20Is so far in her career and picked 16 wickets at an average of 11.37 and an economy of 3.87. Apart from that she scored 185 runs from 14 innings with a highest score of 59*.
Nepal was placed in Group D alongside with Australia, Bangladesh and Scotland. They lost al their matches and got knocked out and finally ended the tournament with a win against Malaysia in the fourth place play-off game.
